INDIANA BOYS BASKETBALL SEMI-STATE
NORTH
CLASS 4A
AT ELKHART
CROWN POINT (20-5) VS. FISHERS (26-1), 10 A.M.
FORT WAYNE WAYNE (22-3) VS. MISHAWAKA (20-7), 11:45 A.M.
CHAMPIONSHIP, 7:30 P.M.
CLASS 3A
AT LOGANSPORT
PERU (16-10) VS. SOUTH BEND ST. JOSEPH (18-9), 10 A.M.
DELTA (22-6) VS. FAIRFIELD (20-6), NOON
CHAMPIONSHIP, 8 P.M.
CLASS 2A
AT LAFAYETTE JEFF
NORTH JUDSON (16-9) VS. WAPAHANI (24-2), 10:30 A.M.
WABASH (21-5) VS. FORT WAYNE BLACKHAWK CHRISTIAN (21-6), 12:30 P.M.
CHAMPIONSHIP, 7:30 P.M.
CLASS A
AT MICHIGAN CITY
LIBERTY CHRISTIAN (17-9) VS. MARQUETTE CATHOLIC (12-15), 10 A.M.
ELKHART CHRISTIAN (17-9) VS. FORT WAYNE CANTERBURY (16-9), NOON
CHAMPIONSHIP, 7:30 P.M.
MEN’S TOP 25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL SCORES
#21 ST. MARY’S 69 #17 GONZAGA 60
ELSEWHERE:
NOTRE DAME 84 GEORGIA TECH 80
CENTRAL FLORIDA 77 OKLAHOMA STATE 62
CINCINNATI 90 WEST VIRGINIA 85
NORTH CAROLINA STATE 94 LOUISVILLE 85
ST. LOUIS 74 RHODE ISLAND 71
BOSTON COLLEGE 81 MIAMI FLORIDA 65
OAKLAND 83 MILWAUKEE 76
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL TOP 25 SCORES
PORTLAND 67 #14 GONZAGA 66
#21 UNLV 62 COLORADO STATE 52
#5 TEXAS 70 STATE 53
ELSEWHERE:
GREEN BAY 64 CLEVELAND STATE 40
SAN DIEGO STATE 72 BOISE STATE 69
NBA SCOREBOARD
NEW YORK 106 PHILADELPHIA 79
MEMPHIS 109 WASHINGTON 97
INDIANA 121 OKLAHOMA CITY 111
HOUSTON 103 SAN ANTONIO 101
BOSTON 123 UTAH 107
MINNESOTA 118 LA CLIPPERS 100
SACRAMENTO 129 MILWAUKEE 94
NHL SCOREBOARD
OTTAWA 2 PITTSBURGH 1 OT
NY RANGERS 1 CAROLINA 0
BUFFALO 7 DETROIT 3
MONTRÉAL 3 COLUMBUS 0
PHILADELPHIA 3 SAN JOSE 2
FLORIDA 4 DALLAS 3
MINNESOTA 4 ARIZONA 1
CHICAGO 7 ANAHEIM 2
COLORADO 6 CALGARY 2
VEGAS 5 SEATTLE 4 OT
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
BALTIMORE 12 TAMPA BAY 8
PITTSBURGH 5 ATLANTA 1
DETROIT 1 MINNESOTA 0
ST. LOUIS 8 BOSTON 6
TORONTO 8 NY YANKEES 1
HOUSTON 9 MIAMI 1
CLEVELAND 3 TEXAS 0
OAKLAND 4 SEATTLE 2
LA DODGERS 6 SAN FRANCISCO 4
ARIZONA 2 SAN DIEGO 2
COLORADO 4 KANSAS CITY 2
WASHINGTON 4 NY METS 1
CHICAGO CUBS 6 MILWAUKEE 5
CHICAGO WHITE SOX 14 CINCINNATI 1
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
NO GAMES SCHEDULED
COLLEGE BASEBALL SCORES
VANDERBILT 13 INDIANA 5
NEBRASKA 8 WICHITA STATE 6
NOTRE DAME 10 RADFORD 3
NORTH CAROLINA 13 RUTGERS 7
MICHIGAN 7 TOLEDO 6
MARYLAND 6 MOUNT ST. MARY’S 4
INDIANA STATE 7 ILLINOIS 6
GEORGIA 10 IOWA 5
BALL STATE 19 PURDUE FORT WAYNE 7
VALPARAISO 5 GARDNER WEBB 2
SOUTHERN INDIANA 12 MIDDLE TENNESSEE 9
COLLEGE SOFTBALL SCORES
UCLA 7 RUTGERS 6
NOTRE DAME 4 BOWLING GREEN 0
NOTRE DAME 10 BOWLING GREEN 9
OHIO STATE 8 BELMONT 0
MARYLAND 2 VIRGINIA 1
NATIONAL SPORTS RELEASES/HEADLINES
NFL NEWS
REPORT: PATRICK MAHOMES TO RESTRUCTURE PACT, LESSEN CHIEFS’ CAP HIT
Star quarterback Patrick Mahomes plans to restructure his contract with the Kansas City Chiefs, freeing up $21.6 million against the salary cap, ESPN reported Tuesday.
Mahomes, who signed a $450 million contract extension in 2020, would count over $58 million toward the cap without a restructuring.
The seven-year veteran, who is coming off back-to-back Super Bowl victories, has been named the game’s MVP three times, and has been the league’s MVP twice.
After a slow start to the 2023 season, Mahomes finished with 4,183 yards passing, his second-lowest total since he took over as starter in 2018. He rallied the Chiefs to a 25-22 come-from-behind victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII last month, throwing for 333 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.
RAVENS AGREE TO 2-YEAR DEAL WITH FREE AGENT RB DERRICK HENRY, AP SOURCE SAYS
The Baltimore Ravens agreed to a two-year contract with free agent running back Derrick Henry on Tuesday, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the move can’t become official until the new league year begins Wednesday. The deal is worth up to $20 million and includes $9 million guaranteed.
The two-time NFL rushing champ joins a Baltimore team that annually produces one of the league’s leading ground games. The running back room was a major offseason concern for the Ravens, because Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins became free agents. Edwards has agreed to a deal with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Henry’s eight-year NFL career — all with the Tennessee Titans to this point — includes a 2020 season when he rushed for 2,027 yards, becoming the eighth player to surpass 2,000.
Henry turned 30 in January. The four-time Pro Bowler led the NFL in 2023 with 280 rushing attempts and ranked second to Christian McCaffrey with 1,167 yards rushing. His 12 rushing TDs were fourth in the AFC, one behind Edwards. Henry also had the first season of his career without a fumble.
Henry leaves Tennessee ranked second in franchise history with 9,502 rushing yards, trailing only Eddie George (10,009).
The 45th pick overall in 2016 leads the NFL with 9,502 yards rushing and 90 rushing TDs in that span. The 6-foot-3, 247-pound Henry has finished in the NFL’s top 10 in rushing each of the six past seasons.
Henry also has four career TD passes, which trails only Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson (seven) among running backs since 2000.
The Ravens finished with the NFL’s best regular-season record in 2023 before losing to Kansas City in the AFC championship game. Now they add another proven offensive playmaker to work alongside quarterback Lamar Jackson, who is coming off his second MVP season.
VIKINGS AGREE TO DEALS WITH EX-RIVAL RB JONES AND QB DARNOLD AS SUB FOR COUSINS, AP SOURCES SAY
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings stayed aggressive in free agency Tuesday by adding former Green Bay running back Aaron Jones and 2018 third overall draft pick Sam Darnold as a temporary replacement at quarterback for Kirk Cousins.
Jones, who was released Monday by the Packers after they landed 2022 All-Pro Josh Jacobs, gets a one-year, $7 million contract with their biggest rival, a person with knowledge of the terms told The Associated Press.
Darnold, who played last season for San Francisco, will get a one-year, $10 million deal, a second person with knowledge of that contract told the AP. The Vikings also agreed to sign kicker John Parker Romo, according to a third person with knowledge of that deal.
All three people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contracts had not yet been finalized. The signing period opens Wednesday.
As Cousins agreed to leave Minnesota for Atlanta on Monday in a busy opening to the NFL ‘s negotiation window, the Vikings swiftly addressed their defense by agreeing to contracts with edge rushers Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel and inside linebacker Blake Cashman.
Then they pivoted to offense.
Darnold, who went just 13-25 as a starter for the New York Jets after they selected him out of Southern California, was traded to Carolina in 2021. He missed most of the 2022 season with the Panthers because of a sprained ankle, and after becoming a free agent last year, he signed with the 49ers as a backup to Brock Purdy.
The 26-year-old Darnold has thrown for 63 touchdowns and 56 interceptions in 66 career games with a completion percentage of 59.7. With the Jets, he was a teammate of Josh McCown, who was recently hired as Minnesota’s quarterbacks coach.
Darnold becomes the presumptive starter for the Vikings, who still have 2023 fifth-round pick Jaren Hall and veteran Nick Mullens under contract. They almost certainly will draft another quarterback next month, owning the 11th overall pick in the first round and assessing a deep class at the vital position.
The deal with Jones was one of the most surprising turns across the league, after the Packers said they planned to bring him back. He was released instead when a pay cut didn’t work out, and the Vikings swooped in to add a well-regarded player who has enjoyed plenty of success at their expense.
The Vikings ranked 29th in the NFL in rushing yards per game and 24th in rushing yards per attempt last season. They released Alexander Mattison last week, but they’re high on the potential of Ty Chandler entering his third year and now have a proven second option for carrying the ball in Jones.
Though he was limited to 11 games last season because of hamstring and knee injuries, Jones came on strong down the stretch by finishing with five straight 100-yard rushing games, including two in the playoffs. One of those was on Dec. 31 in a blowout win at Minnesota.
In 2022, Jones played in all 17 games and rushed for 1,121 yards. With 8,016 yards from scrimmage in seven seasons, Jones has the sixth most among NFL running backs over that time.
Romo went undrafted out of Virginia Tech in 2022 and has had brief stints with Chicago and Detroit. He has not kicked in a regular-season NFL game, but he spent last season in the XFL.
The Vikings also released defensive lineman Dean Lowry, who started four games and finished the season on injured reserve.
TEXANS ARE ACQUIRING RUNNING BACK JOE MIXON FROM THE BENGALS, AP SOURCE SAYS
The Houston Texans are acquiring running back Joe Mixon from the Cincinnati Bengals, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the trade hasn’t been finalized. Mixon will replace Devin Singletary, who has agreed to a deal with the New York Giants.
Mixon led the Bengals last season with 1,034 yards rushing and nine touchdowns. Cincinnati planned to release him after agreeing on a contract with running back Zack Moss on Monday.
Instead, the Texans are sending an undisclosed draft pick to the Bengals to keep Mixon off the open market. He’ll join Dameon Pierce in the backfield for the AFC South champions.
Led by rookie coach DeMeco Ryans and AP Offensive Rookie of the Year C.J. Stroud, the Texans advanced to the second round of the AFC playoffs last season.
The Bengals also agreed on a one-year deal with tight end Mike Gesicki, another person familiar with that deal told the AP. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the contract can’t be signed until the new league year opens Wednesday.
DOLPHINS AGREE ON A 1-YEAR DEAL WITH LINEBACKER SHAQUIL BARRETT
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The Miami Dolphins added needed linebacker help on Tuesday, agreeing to terms with veteran Shaquil Barrett on a one-year contract worth up to $9 million, his agent Drew Rosenhaus confirmed.
Barrett, 31, spent the past five seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he had 45 sacks, 15 forced fumbles and three interceptions. The inside linebacker fills an immediate need at the position, as pass rushers Bradley Chubb (ACL) and Jaelan Phillips (Achilles tendon) could miss time early in the season as they work their way back from serious injuries — though the team hopes to have them back in time.
Barrett — undrafted out of Colorado State in 2014 — has won Super Bowls with the Buccaneers (2020 season) and Denver Broncos (2015 season) and was a Pro Bowl selection in 2019 and 2021. He led the league with 19 1/2 sacks during his first season in Tampa in 2019.
In 2023, Barrett had 52 tackles, 4 1/2 sacks and three forced fumbles. He played only eight games in 2022 because of a torn Achilles tendon.
Tampa Bay released Barrett earlier this month in a move that saved the team nearly $5 million against the salary cap. He was three years into a four-year, $72 million deal that he signed in 2021.
The Dolphins have lost several key pieces on their defense since the start of free agency. Standout defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, who was drafted by the Dolphins in the first round in 2019, agreed to a four-year, $110 contract the Las Vegas Raiders. Linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel, who had a breakout 2023 season, left for the Vikings. And Miami released linebacker Jerome Baker and defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah earlier this month.
EX-BILLS RUNNING BACK NYHEIM HINES AGREES TO A 1-YEAR DEAL WITH THE BROWNS, AP SOURCE SAYS
Former Buffalo Bills running back Nyheim Hines has agreed to a one-year deal with the Cleveland Browns that’s worth up to $3.5 million, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the team didn’t announce the deal, which cannot become official until Wednesday, the start of the new league year.
Hines, who also is kick return specialist, was released by the Bills earlier this month. The seventh-year pro missed all of last season after a boating accident in which he suffered a torn ACL when he was struck by a jet skier in North Carolina.
He joined the Bills in a midseason trade from Indianapolis in 2022, and although he wasn’t an impact player on offense, he returned two kickoffs for touchdowns against New England in the regular-season finale.
Hines was a fourth-round pick by the Colts in 2018.
COMMANDERS AGREE TO SIGN QUARTERBACK MARCUS MARIOTA TO A 1-YEAR DEAL, AP SOURCE SAYS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Washington Commanders have added a veteran quarterback, and the move could signal the direction they’re headed for the future of the position.
The Commanders agreed with Marcus Mariota on a one-year contract with a base salary of $6 million that can be worth up to $10 million, according to a person familiar with the deal. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday because the contract cannot be made official until the new league year opens Wednesday.
Mariota, 30, has appeared in 90 and started 74 NFL games for four teams since being taken with the second pick in the 2015 draft, most recently serving as Jalen Hurts’ backup in Philadelphia last season.
Adding the 30-year-old Oregon product increases the likelihood of Washington using the No. 2 pick this year on a QB. LSU’s Jayden Daniels and North Carolina’s Drake Maye are among the prospects expected to be available if Chicago takes USC’s Caleb Williams first.
Another person familiar with the situation said Washington agreed to a one-year contract with defensive end Clelin Ferrell. A third person said the team agreed with guard Nick Allegretti on a $16 million, three-year contract with $9.02 million guaranteed.
REPORT: BROWNS TO ADD WINSTON ON 1-YEAR CONTRACT
The Cleveland Browns are close to adding quarterback Jameis Winston on a one-year contract worth up to $8.7 million, sources told Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz.
Winston appeared in seven games for the New Orleans Saints in 2023, throwing for 264 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions on 53.2% passing.
The former No. 1 pick hasn’t started a game since 2022, when he went 1-3 in three appearances with the Saints.
Winston is expected to backup Deshaun Watson, who missed 11 contests and finished the campaign with 1,115 yards, seven touchdown passes, and four picks. Joe Flacco, who went 4-1 and won Comeback Player of the Year after joining the club late in the season, remains a free agent.
The 30-year-old Winston has thrown for 22,104 yards, 141 touchdowns, and 99 interceptions in 93 career games.
STEELERS TO SIGN EX-RAVENS LB QUEEN TO 3-YEAR, $41M DEAL
Former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Patrick Queen plans to sign a three-year, $41-million deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers, he told ESPN’s Marcus Spears, according to Adam Schefter.
The 24-year-old earned Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro honors in 2023 after accumulating 133 total tackles (nine for loss), 3.5 sacks, an interception, and six pass deflections. The All-Star nominations were the first of his career.
Queen had 16 total tackles and a deflection in two AFC North clashes against the Steelers last year.
The 2020 first-round pick is expected to take over as Pittsburgh’s top off-ball linebacker. Elandon Roberts was the Steelers’ lone defensive player to amass 100 or more total tackles (101) in 2023.
Queen has totaled 454 total tackles (37 for loss), 13.5 sacks, four interceptions, and 15 pass deflections in 67 career games. He’s also forced five fumbles and recovered six.
REPORTS: EAGLES BRING BACK DB C.J. GARDNER-JOHNSON
C.J. Gardner-Johnson agreed to a three-year deal to return to the Philadelphia Eagles after leaving for the Detroit Lions in free agency last year, ESPN and the Detroit Free-Press reported Tuesday.
A demonstrative defensive back who lines up at safety but thrives near the line of scrimmage, Gardner-Johnson missed all but three games in the 2023 regular season because of a torn pectoral muscle. He was placed on injured reserve following the Week 2 loss to the Seattle Seahawks but worked to get back for the end of the season and playoffs.
Gardner-Johnson, 26, can make up to $33 million over the course of the deal, ESPN reported.
Described by Lions coach Dan Campbell as part of the heart-and-soul of Detroit’s defense, the Eagles found out how much he meant to the team only after his exit. Gardner-Johnson was a key starter for the Eagles during their Super Bowl runner-up finish two seasons ago.
Last season, general manager Howie Roseman used multiple avenues, including the draft and a trade with the Titans in October to acquire former All-Pro Kevin Byard, but safety remained a position of weakness through the 2023 season.
By reeling Gardner-Johnson back in, the Eagles fill one of their lone roster needs in a free agency period that includes agreements with running back Saquon Barkley and re-signing guard Landon Dickerson to a massive deal (reportedly $84 million).
Gardner-Johnson was acquired by the Eagles from the Saints in 2022. He played for New Orleans from 2019-21.
TEXANS LAND COVETED FREE AGENT DE DANIELLE HUNTER
Four-time Pro Bowl pass-rusher Danielle Hunter, perhaps the biggest remaining free agent, is leaving the Minnesota Vikings and joining the Houston Texans on a two-year, $49 million deal, multiple reports said Tuesday.
The agreement, which clears the way for a homecoming of sorts, is reported to include a guaranteed $48 million. Hunter, 29, was born in Jamaica and grew up in Katy, Texas.
He was drafted in the third round by Minnesota in 2015 and played 119 games (90 starts) over eight seasons.
The 6-foot-5, 263-pound Hunter, who missed the 2020 season and a good part of 2021 with injuries, played on a one-year contract last season. In Houston, he will be expected to fill the shoes of departed Texans edge rusher Jonathan Greenard, who signed with Minnesota.
Hunter compiled a career-high 16.5 sacks last season, giving him 87.5 during his tenure with the Vikings. He also led the NFL with 23 tackles for loss.
REPORT: NO TRADE MARKET HAS EMERGED FOR BEARS QB JUSTIN FIELDS
A trade market for Bears quarterback Justin Fields has yet to develop, ESPN reported on Tuesday, citing sources that most teams view the 2021 first-round pick as a backup.
Fields was widely expected to be in play for the Atlanta Falcons or Pittsburgh Steelers. Atlanta agreed to a reported $180 million contract with 35-year-old Kirk Cousins and the Steelers signed Russell Wilson at a discount rate with Denver paying most of the $39 million salary he’s guaranteed for 2024.
The modest market creates a conundrum in Chicago, where general manager Ryan Poles holds a pair of top-10 draft picks and the Bears are thought to be planning on using one of those selections on Southern California quarterback Caleb Williams.
The Bears hold the No. 1 pick in the draft because they opted to pass on Bryce Young of Alabama and No. 2 pick C.J. Stroud of Ohio State in 2023, instead dealing the rights to the top spot to the Panthers. Carolina traded wide receiver DJ Moore and their first-round picks in 2023 and 2024 to the Bears and selected Young.
Many of the teams still in the market for a quarterback are focused on a popular set of prospects in the 2024 draft with Williams, LSU’s Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye of North Carolina and J.J. McCarthy of Michigan being discussed as probable top-15 picks. Oregon’s Bo Nix and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. are also on the radar as potential first- or second-round picks.
Fields, 25, still could find a new home this offseason. The Las Vegas Raiders agreed to a two-year deal with Gardner Minshew but are paying a backup rate to a potential placeholder starter and the New England Patriots, currently holding the No. 3 pick in the 2024 draft, might give Fields a shot if it becomes evident their preferred quarterback won’t be available at the top of the draft.
Value for first-round draft picks at quarterback nosediving is a familiar backdrop for general managers attempting to offload those players. The Patriots agreed to accept a sixth-round pick in exchange for Mac Jones, who was selected 15th in 2021, four spots after Fields went to the Bears.
The No. 3 pick in that draft, Trey Lance, was traded to the Dallas Cowboys from the San Francisco 49ers for a fourth-round pick.
The 2021 No. 2 pick, Zach Wilson, has drawn no interest after being given permission to seek a trade by the Jets last month.
DEREK WATT RETIRES AFTER 7 NFL SEASONS
Derek Watt, the middle brother in the football-playing Watt brothers trio, announced his retirement from the NFL.
A fullback, Watt was selected by the then-San Diego Chargers in the sixth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. He played his first four seasons with the Chargers, then joined younger brother T.J. with the Pittsburgh Steelers for three seasons. He did not play in the NFL last season.
In an lengthy statement posted, Watt said he was “just a kid from Pewaukee, WI who had the chance to live out his childhood dream of being drafted and playing in the NFL. And now, it is with great honor and gratitude that I officially announce my retirement and the end to my career … a career that ended up being about so much more than just the game that I love.”
He also thanked his parents and his two brothers, including J.J., who retired after the 2022 season. T.J. and J.J. Watt were named NFL Defensive Player of the Year — younger brother T.J. in 2021 and older brother J.J. in 2012, 2014 and 2015.
“To JJ & TJ … From playing in the backyard, to sharing a field in the NFL, this journey together has been absolutely incredible. They say if you want to be great, then you should surround yourself with greatness … You both have pushed me to be the best that I could be and it’s been so special to see all the hard work that we put in and sacrifices that we made pay off!”
Derek Watt retires after gaining 249 yards from scrimmage and scoring three touchdowns in 110 games (20 starts). He also was a presence on special teams, playing more than 60 percent of his team’s snap count in each of six seasons.
PANTHERS SIGN LEWIS
Carolina continued reconstructing its offensive line on Tuesday with a four-year, $53 million contract agreement with guard Damien Lewis.
Multiple outlets reported Lewis received $26.2 million in guarantees to pair with another free agent, Robert Hunt, who agreed to a five-year, $100 million contract with the Panthers on Monday. Hunt played guard and tackle for the Miami Dolphins.
Lewis, who turns 27 later this month, was a third-round pick of the Seahawks from LSU in 2020 and has 61 starts in four seasons.
Panthers head coach Dave Canales was on the Seattle coaching staff each of Lewis’ first three years in the NFL.
EAGLES GET HENNESSY
The Eagles agreed to terms on a one-year deal with offensive lineman Matt Hennessy on Tuesday.
Hennessy, 26, can play multiple interior offensive line positions. He started 22 total games for the Atlanta Falcons from 2020-22 before sitting out last season with a knee injury.
Atlanta selected Hennessy in the third round out of Philadelphia’s Temple University in 2020.
BENGALS AWARDED THIRD-ROUND PICK IN NFL’S DRAFT FLUB
Courtesy of an accounting error by the NFL, the Cincinnati Bengals added a third-round draft pick initially awarded as a sixth-rounder when the league released compensatory draft selections.
The Bengals were awarded pick No. 97, the top compensatory selection awarded for the 2024 draft, instead of the 208th overall pick at the end of the sixth round.
Compensatory picks are given to teams who lose free agents, coaches and scouting and personnel staff to other teams based on a league calculation that factors in salary, playing time and production.
The NFL said in a memo it miscalculated the compensation of the Cincinnati pick, which is believed to be tied to safety Jessie Bates. Bates left the Bengals to sign with the Atlanta Falcons in free agency last March.
Correcting the compensation for Cincinnati impacts every subsequent draft pick.
Philadelphia — and the rest of the remaining draft selections — falls down one spot from No. 97 to No. 98.
FORMER JAGUARS FINANCIAL MANAGER WHO PLED GUILTY TO STEALING $22M FROM TEAM GETS 78 MONTHS IN PRISON
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A former Jacksonville Jaguars financial manager who pled guilty to stealing more than $22 million from the NFL franchise through its virtual credit card program was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison Tuesday.
Judge Henry Lee Adams Jr. sentenced Amit Patel, 31, in U.S. District Court in Jacksonville. Patel, wearing a charcoal suit and a burgundy tie, showed no emotion inside the packed courthouse as the punishment was handed down.
Prosecutors said Patel has returned $1.89 million, leaving his restitution tab at $21,132,454.40 — a figure the judge acknowledged he will never be able to pay back following a felony conviction. Patel pled guilty in December to one count of wire fraud and one count of making an illegal monetary transaction.
The judge sentenced Patel to 78 months on each count, to run concurrently. It was the lowest number under sentencing guidelines. He also got three years of supervised release.
Patel’s lawyer argued for a lighter sentence Tuesday, asking for no more than 60 months. Prosecutors countered and detailed how Patel used “insider information” to go unnoticed for 40 months (between 2019 and 2023) while making hundreds of fraudulent transactions.
“If he can steal $22 million and get probation, he’s going to do it again,” assistant U.S. attorney Michael J. Coolican argued. “He’s a smart guy and will find a way. … If it’s reported on SportsCenter tonight you can steal $22 million and get a low-ball sentence, a slap on the wrist, you better watch out.”
Patel had roughly two dozen friends and family members in the courthouse. Four of them spoke on his behalf: his older brother, an uncle, a former high school teacher and his girlfriend.
Patel wiped away tears as his brother detailed his younger sibling’s alcohol abuse and gambling addiction, as his uncle told the court what a prison sentence would do to Patel’s widowed mother, as his former teacher called him a model student and as his girlfriend talked about standing by him through weekly alcohol and gambling addiction meetings and having to take a job as an Uber driver.
Patel closed the hearing and said he started gambled 14 years ago.
“I stand before you embarrassed, ashamed and disappointed for my actions,” he said. “It began small and then snowballed so big that my only thought was to gamble my way out of it. In the end, I always thought that big win was right around the corner and would fix all my problems.”
Patel said he is nearing one year of sobriety.
“Part of my recovery process is making amends,” Patel said. “However, that seems impossible given how many people I’ve let down.”
Megha Parekh, the Jaguars’ chief legal officer, read a victim-impact statement to the court.
“Speaking on behalf of the Jaguars, do know that we want to move on and forgive, not just Amit, but ourselves for trusting him only to watch him shame us, individually and collectively,” Parekh said. “We are proud of our employees for how they weathered through the mess he made. But make no mistake, Amit broke our hearts.”
Patel’s lawyers said he gambled away “approximately 99%” of the misappropriated money and said his gambling losses totaled $32 million.
Patel gambled on prominent websites at the Jaguars’ facility, which triggered an NFL investigation. The NFL met with Patel in February and then turned the case over to the FBI. The Jaguars subsequently suspended and eventually fired Patel, who began working for the team in 2018.
Patel oversaw the company’s monthly financial statements and department budgets and served as the club’s administrator of its virtual credit card program, which allowed authorized employees to “request VCC’s for business-related purchases or expenses.”
Patel used his control to make fraudulent transactions, according to the court filing. He duplicated and inflated transactions for items such as catering, airfare and hotel charges and filed fake transactions that seemed legitimate.
The Jaguars insist Patel was a rogue employee who took advantage of a lack of oversight after a co-worker with similar authority was moved to another department. No one else in the finance department has been fired, and the Jags have since instituted more checks and balances to prevent something similar from happening again.
Patel went to great lengths to hide his actions, even paying off some of the credit card debt from his personal account. He used the money to buy two vehicles, a condominium in nearby Ponte Vedra Beach, a designer watch and cryptocurrency, according to court documents.
He spent more than $278,000 on hotels, rental properties and travel. He spent more than $200,000 on golf memorabilia, including $47,113.92 to purchase a putter used by Tiger Woods during the 1996 U.S. Amateur. He spent more than $77,000 at the Ponte Vedra Beach Inn & Club. He spent $140,412.97 on eBay and $69,025.26 with Ticketmaster.
He also used $275,000 of the stolen funds to hire his attorney, according to court documents.
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
NO. 21 SAINT MARY’S ENDS NO. 17 GONZAGA’S MONOPOLY OF WCC TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP WITH 69-60 WIN
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Aidan Mahaney scored 23 points, Mitchell Saxen had 19 points and 15 rebounds, and No. 21 Saint Mary’s led nearly the entire way to beat No. 17 Gonzaga 69-60 on Tuesday night and interrupt the Bulldogs’ stranglehold on the West Coast Conference Tournament title.
Gonzaga (25-7) had won four WCC championships in a row and 10 of 11, with Saint Mary’s in 2019 the one year the Bulldogs didn’t claim the trophy. The Gaels earned the conference’s automatic bid for the NCAA Tournament, but both sides were certain to make the 68-team field even before tipoff.
The sharp-shooting Mahaney was a major reason the Gaels (26-7) prevailed. He made 9 of 15 shots, including 5 of 7 from 3-point range. Also for Saint Mary’s, Saxen produced a double-double despite battling foul trouble, and WCC player of the year Augustas Marciulionis scored 13 points.
Anton Watson led the Zags with 18 points. Ryan Nembhard finished with 13 points and 11 assists, and Graham Ike had 10 points even though he played only 20 minutes because of foul trouble.
The game was close throughout — Saint Mary’s largest lead was 11 points — but the Gaels managed to stay in front almost throughout. Gonzaga used an eight-point run to finally take the lead with 7:41 left, but that advantage lasted only 22 seconds and was answered by a seven-point spurt by the Gaels.
Both teams came in surging. Saint Mary’s now has won 23 of 25 games, and the Gaels ended Gonzaga’s nine-game winning streak.
They also, at least briefly, ended the Bulldogs’ domination of this series. Gonzaga had won 26 of the past 32 meetings, and had been the Gaels’ nemesis in WCC championship games in winning three of the previous four against Saint Mary’s.
MARCH MADNESS: HOW TO WATCH AND WHAT TO WATCH FOR IN THE 2024 NCAA TOURNAMENT
The countdown to March Madness is on.
The beloved annual tradition that is the NCAA Tournament will begin next week. Tens of thousands will fill out those brackets in hopes of winning the office poll or at least a bit of respect after the matchups are set on Selection Sunday.
Who will win it all? UConn is a trendy pick to claim a sixth overall title and become the first team to repeat as NCAA champion since Florida in 2006-07. But there are no obviously dominant teams this year and it could be a wild ride again; last year’s Final Four, remember, included two 5 seeds (Miami and San Diego State), the fourth-seeded Huskies and 9 seed Florida Atlantic.
Get ready: The tournament tips off with the First Four on March 19 and the first round begins March 21.
HOW TO WATCH
Every game of the men’s tournament will be aired — here is a schedule that will be updated with matchups — either on CBS, TBS, TNT or TruTV and their digital platforms, including Paramount+. TBS will handle the Final Four and national title game this year.
The NCAA is streaming games via its March Madness Live option.
BETTING GUIDE
The top three betting favorites heading into the final days of the regular season (in order) are UConn, Houston and Purdue, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
WHO IS PLAYING?
There are 32 automatic bids being filled this week and they will be combined with 36 at-large picks by the NCAA selection committee. We all find out on Selection Sunday, March 17, when bracket matchups are unveiled.
WHEN ARE THE GAMES?
The First Four is in Dayton, Ohio, and first- and second-round games March 21-24 stretch from New York City to Spokane, Washington.
Sweet 16 weekend will see games March 28-31 in Boston (East Regional), Dallas (South), Detroit (Midwest) and Los Angeles (West).
The Final Four is in Glendale, Arizona, on Saturday, April 6, with the championship game the night of Monday, April 8.
NO. 5 TENNESSEE CAN EARN THE VOLS’ FIRST NCAA NO. 1 SEED BY ADDING SEC TOURNAMENT TITLE
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Fifth-ranked Tennessee and coach Rick Barnes have a lot at stake at the Southeastern Conference Tournament.
The Volunteers (24-7) start making a final argument for the program’s first No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament when they open play at the SEC Tournament on Friday. They are trying to add a tournament title to their SEC regular-season championship, which Tennessee hasn’t done since the 1942-43 season.
It won’t be easy.
“Now it’s you either win or you go home,” Barnes said of this time of the season.
This is the first time that Tennessee has been the lone No. 1 seed since the SEC revived the tournament in 1979 after sharing the East’s top seed in 2006, 2008 and 2009. The Vols have reached the SEC Tournament final three of the past five events, with the only win in that span coming in 2022.
“We’ll be ready,” said Dalton Knecht, a Tennessee senior and both the AP SEC Player of the Year and the league’s newcomer of the year after the Northern Colorado transfer led the league in scoring.
Four SEC teams finished tied at 13-5, a game back of the Vols in league play. Kentucky (23-8), which has won this tournament 31 times, leads that pack as the No. 2 seed and is looking for its first title since 2018.
No. 19 Alabama (21-10) has won this tournament two of the past three years, and coach Nate Oats knows how much it means not having to play until Friday, when the Crimson Tide debut in the last game of the quarterfinals.
“Getting a bye to Friday makes it much more likely that you’ve got a chance to win that tournament,” Oats said.
No. 12 Auburn (24-7) earned the No. 4 seed and likely will face 15th-ranked and fifth-seeded South Carolina (25-6) if the surprising Gamecocks under SEC coach of the year Lamont Paris win their opener Thursday under their second-year coach.
“To win 13 games in the league this year is really something,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “This league was daunting, the best I’ve seen it.”
The tournament, set for Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena at least through 2030, starts Wednesday night with No. 12 seed Arkansas playing 13th-seeded Vanderbilt. No. 11 seed Georgia faces Missouri, which went winless in league play.
SCORERS
The SEC has a bunch of good scorers this season. Knecht was leading the league with 21.4 points a game, only to take that up once conference play began. Then he averaged 25.5 points to lead all Division I players in conference-only competition, edging out Purdue’s Zach Edey (25.4).
Knecht bested Alabama’s Mark Sears, who has scored at least 20 or more in 21 games this season.
Kentucky freshman Reed Shephard put on a show in the regular-season finale, knocking off Tennessee by nailing seven 3s and finishing with 27 points. Teammate Antonio Reeves has scored 20 or more points in seven straight games, the first player from Kentucky to do that since Jamal Murray in the 2015-16 season.
Auburn’s shooter is Denver Jones, the transfer from Florida International who is 21 of 33 outside the arc over the past five games. He has made at least a trio of 3s in each of those games, including going 7 of 9 in the regular-season finale over Georgia.
STREAKING
Kentucky has taken fans on a roller coaster ride this season, though now the Wildcats are pointed upward, going into this tournament winning five straight and seven of the last eight. The loss came by a point on a buzzer-beater at LSU.
The Wildcats have beaten three AP Top 25 teams in this span, the last an 85-81 win at Tennessee to finish the regular season.
INJURY UPDATE
Alabama got Latrell Wrightsell Jr. back from a concussion just in time. He helped Alabama snap a three-game skid with an overtime win over Arkansas to end the season and clinch the No. 3 seed. That means Alabama won’t play until the final game Friday night, giving starting guard Rylan Griffen time to heal the calf strain that kept him out of the regular-season finale.
Oats thinks missing Wrightsell, who is 27 for 27 at the free-throw line this season, cost Alabama dearly.
“We’d have a league championship if he hadn’t gone down,” Oats said. “But that’s some of the adversity we’ve got to fight through. We didn’t win a league championship, so let’s get ourselves back together and let’s compete for a tournament championship.”
TENNESSEE’S DALTON KNECHT NAMED AP’S SEC PLAYER OF YEAR; SOUTH CAROLINA’S PARIS IS COACH OF YEAR
Tennessee forward Dalton Knecht, a transfer who helped lead the fifth-ranked Volunteers to a Southeastern Conference regular-season championship, is the league’s Associated Press player of the year and newcomer of the year.
South Carolina’s Lamont Paris was named coach of the year in voting by 14 reporters covering the SEC released on Tuesday. Knecht and Auburn forward Johni Broome were both unanimous first-team picks.
Knecht led the league in scoring at 21.4 points a game, shot 40.5% from 3-point range and averaged 4.8 rebounds. The fifth-year Northern Colorado transfer didn’t miss a beat after leading the Big Sky Conference in scoring last season. In fact, he raised his average from 20.2 points and helped Tennessee emerge from a pack of contenders late in the season.
“It is crazy. I mean that is wild to think about that,” Knecht said of actually scoring more upon entering the SEC. “You play with one of the best point guards in the nation and center in Jonas (Aidoo) and Z (Zakei Zeigler) so they make it a lot easier for me to just go out and just go hoop.”
The Vols won their first outright SEC championship since 2008.
The 6-foot-6 Knecht led the nation with five 35-points-plus performances. His 25.5-point scoring average in SEC games is the most since South Carolina’s Devan Downey averaged 26.2 in 2009-10. He has five of the league’s top nine scoring performances this season.
Paris led a remarkable turnaround in his second season with the 15th-ranked Gamecocks, who went 25-6 after an 11-win debut season. South Carolina was picked to finish last in the SEC but wound up as the No. 5 seed in this week’s SEC Tournament.
The Vols’ Rick Barnes also got a nod as coach of the year. Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard, Mississippi State’s Josh Hubbard and Florida’s Tyrese Samuel each got votes as top newcomer, for either a freshman or transfer. Alabama guard Mark Sears, who battled Knecht for the league scoring title, received a vote as player of the year.
FIRST TEAM
Guard — Antonio Reeves, Kentucky, 5th year, 6-6, 195, Chicago.
Guard — Mark Sears, Alabama, Sr., 6-1, 185, Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
u-Guard — Dalton Knecht, Tennessee, 5th year, 6-6, 213, Thornton, Colorado.
Forward — Johni Broome, Auburn, Jr., 6-10, 240, Plant City, Florida.
t-Forward — Tolu Smith, Mississippi State, grad, 6-11, 245, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
t-Forward — Jonas Aidoo, Tennessee, Jr., 6-11, 240, Durham, North Carolina.
t-tied for first team.
SECOND TEAM
Guard — Wade Taylor IV, Texas A&M, Jr. 6-0, 175, Dallas.
Guard — Reed Sheppard, Kentucky, Fr., 6-3, 187, London, Kentucky.
Guard — Zakai Ziegler, Tennessee, Jr., 5-9, 171, Long Island, New York.
Forward — Jaylin Williams, Auburn, grad, 6-8, 245, Nahunta, Georgia.
Forward — Tyrese Samuel, Florida, grad, 6-10, 239, Montreal.
INDIVIDUAL HONORS
Coach of the year — Lamont Paris, South Carolina.
u-Player of the year — Dalton Knecht, Tennessee.
Newcomer of the year — Dalton Knecht, Tennessee.
u-denotes unanimous pick.
TAR HEELS GET TOP AP HONORS FOR RJ DAVIS AND COACH HUBERT DAVIS TO HEADLINE ALL-ACC TEAM
North Carolina guard RJ Davis is the unanimous choice as The Associated Press men’s basketball player of the year in the Atlantic Coast Conference, while the Tar Heels’ Hubert Davis was voted as coach of the year.
Wake Forest guard Hunter Sallis, a transfer from Gonzaga, was named the newcomer of the year in balloting released Tuesday from 15 journalists who cover the ACC.
RJ Davis, a 6-foot senior, and Hubert Davis claimed top honors after helping No. 4 North Carolina win the ACC regular-season title outright for the first time since 2017. RJ Davis led the ACC in scoring at 21.1 points per game and has twice been selected as the AP national player of the week this season.
Hubert Davis earned 10 votes, with Syracuse’s Adrian Autry the only other coach to receive two votes.
A year after missing the NCAA Tournament, the Tar Heels became only the second team to reach 17 league wins in a season since the league expanded its schedule to 18- and 20-game slates. They are the No. 1 seed in this week’s ACC Tournament.
Sallis averaged 18.3 points in helping the Demon Deacons contend for an NCAA Tournament bid. He received six votes to edge Notre Dame freshman Markus Burton (five) for the league’s top newcomer.
RJ Davis and Sallis were part of an all-ACC first team that featured three big men, including Duke’s Kyle Filipowski and Clemson’s PJ Hall as first-team picks on 14 of 15 ballots. North Carolina big man Armando Bacot and Virginia guard Reece Beekman rounded out the first team after tying for the last spot.
FIRST TEAM
u-RJ Davis, North Carolina, 6-0, 180, Sr., White Plains, New York.
Kyle Filipowski, Duke, 7-0, 248, So., Westtown, New York.
PJ Hall, Clemson, 6-10, 238, Sr., Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest, 6-5, 185, Jr., Omaha, Nebraska.
t-Armando Bacot, North Carolina, 6-11, 240, Gr., Richmond, Virginia.
t-Reece Beekman, Virginia, 6-3, 194, Sr., Milwaukee.
u-unanimous selection; t-tied for final spot
SECOND TEAM
Judah Mintz, Syracuse, 6-4, 185, So., Fort Washington, Maryland.
Blake Hinson, Pittsburgh, 6-8, 230, Sr., Deltona, Florida.
Norchad Omier, Miami, 6-7, 240, Jr., Bluefields, Nicaragua.
DJ Horne, North Carolina State, 6-2, 180, Gr., Raleigh, North Carolina.
t-Quinten Post, Boston College, 7-0, 235, Gr., Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
t-Jeremy Roach, Duke, 6-2, 180, Sr., Leesburg, Virginia.
t-tied for final spot.
INDIVIDUAL HONORS
Coach of the year – Hubert Davis, North Carolina
Player of the year – RJ Davis, North Carolina
Newcomer of the year – Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest
UCONN’S TRISTEN NEWTON, CAM SPENCER AND DAN HURLEY SWEEP AP’S TOP INDIVIDUAL AWARDS IN BIG EAST
Tristen Newton, Cam Spencer and Dan Hurley gave Connecticut a sweep of The Associated Press’ top men’s basketball honors in the Big East.
Newton is the conference’s player of the year, Spencer is newcomer of the year and Hurley is coach of the year in balloting released Tuesday by 11 journalists who cover the conference.
Marquette’s Tyler Kolek and Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner are repeat selections to the AP All-Big East first team. They’re joined by Newton, Providence’s Devin Carter and Creighton’s Baylor Scheierman. Kolek, the player of the year in 2023, and Carter were unanimous picks.
The first team is guard-heavy. Kolek, Carter and Newton were the top three vote-getters, ahead of big man Kalkbrenner, and Scheierman was well ahead of any forward for the fifth spot.
Newton leads the defending national champion Huskies in scoring (15.0 ppg), rebounding (7.1 rpg) and assists (5.8 apg). He enters the Big East Tournament this week with nine double-doubles, including triple-doubles against Manhattan and Villanova.
Newton, who transferred to UConn from East Carolina two years ago, leads active Division I players with four career triple-doubles and is the only active player with at least 1,800 points, 650 rebounds and 650 assists.
Spencer, in his one and only season at UConn after transferring from Rutgers, is shooting a Big East-leading 45.1% on 3-pointers and averages 14.9 points and 3.3 assists per game.
Hurley, in his sixth year, led the Huskies to a Big East-record 18 conference wins and a school-record 28 regular-season wins. The Huskies’ regular-season title was their first since 2006 and first outright title since 1999.
Kolek leads the nation in assists (7.6 apg.) and ranks among the league leaders in six categories and has six double-doubles.
Carter averaged a Big East-leading 21.4 points per game in conference play and is shooting 38.5% on 3-pointers.
Scheierman leads the Big East with 14 double-doubles and averages 18.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. Kalkbrenner’s 2.97 blocks per game rank second nationally, and Big East coaches named him defensive player of the year for a third straight season. He averages 17.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.
FIRST TEAM
u-Guard — Tyler Kolek, Marquette, Sr., 6-3, 190, Cumberland, Rhode Island.
u-Guard — Devin Carter, Providence, Jr., 6-3, 195, Miami.
Guard — Tristen Newton, Connecticut, Gr., 6-5, 195, El Paso, Texas.
Guard — Baylor Scheierman, Creighton, Sr., 6-7, 205, Aurora, Nebraska.
Center — Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton, Sr., 7-1, 270, Florissant, Missouri.
—u-denotes unanimous selection
SECOND TEAM
Guard — Kadary Richmond, Seton Hall, Sr., 6-6, 210, Brooklyn, New York.
Guard — Cam Spencer, Connecticut, Gr., 6-4, 205, Davidsonville, Maryland.
Guard — Trey Alexander, Creighton, Jr., 6-4, 190, Oklahoma City.
Forward — Oso Ighodaro, Marquette, Sr., 6-11, 225, Chandler, Arizona.
Forward — Eric Dixon, Villanova, Jr., 6-8, 255, Willow Grove, Pennsylvania.
INDIVIDUAL HONORS
Coach of the year — Dan Hurley, Connecticut.
Player of the year — Tristen Newton, Connecticut.
Newcomer of the year — Cam Spencer, Connecticut.
NO. 2 UCONN SEEKS 1ST BIG EAST TOURNEY TITLE SINCE 2011 IN MSG CLASH THAT COULD BURST NCAA BUBBLE
NEW YORK (AP) — Just about the only accomplishment missing from UConn’s tour de force the past two years is a Big East Tournament title.
That could provide added motivation this week at Madison Square Garden for a dominant squad that doesn’t seem to need any.
“As good a college basketball team as I’ve seen in a long time,” Providence coach Kim English said Saturday.
After winning the regular-season conference crown by four games, the second-ranked Huskies (28-3, 18-2) are the No. 1 seed in a Big East Tournament that features three top-10 teams and four others perched precariously on the NCAA Tournament bubble: Seton Hall, St. John’s, Villanova and Providence.
Needless to say, the selection committee will be watching closely — along with March Madness fans all over the country.
The first-round tripleheader tips off Wednesday afternoon when eighth-seeded Butler faces No. 9 seed Xavier, with the winner advancing to play Connecticut in the first of four quarterfinal games Thursday.
“It’s going to be a blast, man,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said. “It’s a seven-bid league. And three national championship-caliber teams. It’s the best conference tournament in the country — nothing’s even close.”
It’s easy to forget Hurley and his Huskies lost to Marquette in the semifinals last season, especially since they quickly shrugged off that sting and romped to a national championship weeks later.
But the fact is, UConn hasn’t won this storied event since 2011, when “Kardiac” Kemba Walker famously carried the team to five scintillating wins in five days. So technically, the Huskies have captured three national titles (2011, 2014, 2023) since their last Big East Tournament crown.
Of course, the school spent seven seasons in the American Athletic Conference from 2014-20. However, the Huskies have been knocked out in the Big East semifinals all three years since rejoining the league. And anyone familiar with UConn’s history and boisterous fan base knows Big East supremacy remains a big deal in Connecticut — even with five NCAA titles to tout, all in the past quarter-century.
Fueled by first-team All-Big East guards Tristen Newton and Cam Spencer, these Huskies are seeking the program’s eighth Big East Tournament championship, which would match Georgetown for the most of any school.
Connecticut is 4-0 at MSG this season, including double-digit wins over No. 4 North Carolina and St. John’s, a potential semifinal opponent.
But regardless of results in Midtown Manhattan this week, UConn has probably sewed up a No. 1 seed in the NCAAs already — and maybe an opening-weekend trip to the Barclays Center site, just a subway ride away in Brooklyn.
“The problem for people when they play against us now is, we’ve got that championship confidence,” Hurley said.
AILING STAR
Point guard Tyler Kolek missed the final three regular-season games for No. 10 Marquette with an oblique injury. Golden Eagles coach Shaka Smart has expressed confidence that Kolek will return at some point this postseason, but his status for the Big East Tournament was uncertain.
Kolek was the 2023 Big East Player of the Year and tournament MVP for defending champion Marquette. He is averaging 15 points and leads the nation with 7.6 assists per game. The third-seeded Golden Eagles (23-8, 14-6) await the Villanova-DePaul winner in the quarterfinals Thursday night.
HUDSON RIVER RIVALRY
The second quarterfinal Thursday afternoon matches fourth-seeded Seton Hall (20-11, 13-7) against No. 5 seed St. John’s (19-12, 11-9). Both teams are barely on the right side of the NCAA bubble in several bracket projections, so this one could have significant postseason implications.
In his debut season at streaking St. John’s, 71-year-old Hall of Famer Rick Pitino is trying to become the first coach to take six schools to the NCAA Tournament.
“It would be very special if we can get there and I think we could do some damage if we do,” point guard Daniss Jenkins said.
St. John’s hasn’t reached the Big East semifinals since winning the 2000 championship — even though the event takes place on one of its home courts.
HOT SEAT
Sixth-seeded Villanova (17-14, 10-10), a perennial power under Hall of Fame coach Jay Wright, is in jeopardy of missing the NCAA Tournament for the second time in two seasons with Kyle Neptune at the helm.
A first-round victory against downtrodden DePaul (3-28, 0-20) won’t really help. A quarterfinal win over Marquette just might.
“In this league you go against some monster coaches, monster teams,” Neptune said. “I think we all understand the situation.”
COLLEGE REUNION
English makes his Big East Tournament coaching debut Wednesday night when Devin Carter and seventh-seeded Providence (19-12, 10-10) open against No. 10 seed Georgetown (9-22, 2-18). Hoyas coach Ed Cooley left his hometown Friars following last season to take the rebuilding job at Georgetown.
The winner gets No. 8 Creighton, led by the terrific trio of Trey Alexander, Baylor Scheierman and three-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year Ryan Kalkbrenner. The second-seeded Bluejays (23-8, 14-6) are 0-4 in Big East championship games.
CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS BEGIN IN EARNEST WITH PLENTY OF TEAMS ON THE NCAA TOURNEY BUBBLE
There were plenty of men’s college basketball teams sitting on the NCAA Tournament bubble Monday that saw Drake beat Indiana State for the Missouri Valley Tournament title and did not know whether that was a good thing.
Had the Sycamores done enough to earn at at-large bid? Would the Bulldogs have done enough if they lost?
As most conferences get underway with their own tournaments Tuesday and Wednesday, the focus will be just as much on those teams trying to play their way into the field of 68 as those ranked in the Top 25. And each day that passes, teams precariously on the bubble will be watching results around the nation and trying to decipher where exactly they stack up.
“The guys have been watching all these conference tournaments,” Kansas State coach Jerome Tang said, “and you see teams — Who was it? East Tennessee State was down 20 and came back and sent it to overtime and ended up winning? And you see the guys from Chattanooga, you know? They’re crying, right? The season’s over. The finality of it.
“What really helps in this time is, do these guys want to spend another day together? Do they love being with each other, and they don’t want this thing to end, so you’re going to do everything they can.”
For the Wildcats (18-13), who have three wins over top-10 teams after beating Iowa State on Saturday, that could mean winning at least a couple of games as the No. 10 seed. They opened the Big 12 tourney against Texas on Wednesday night.
Also on the bubble out of the Big 12 is Oklahoma (20-11), which will play TCU earlier in the day in a second-round game.
“That’s what makes the Big 12 so great,” Tang said. “Every game is like an (NCAA) Tournament game, and I think every team right now — doesn’t matter who you are — is playing like it’s your last game, because it just means so much to you.”
ACC TOURNAMENT
There are a slew of teams in the ACC that are in the same bucket — Pittsburgh, Wake Forest, Clemson and Syracuse — in that they should feel good about their NCAA chances but would feel a whole lot better with a win or two in Washington, D.C.
Virginia Tech is the team that is in desperation mode. The Hokies (18-13) play Florida State in a second-round game Wednesday and probably need to make a run to the championship game to have any chance of stealing at at-large berth.
BIG EAST TOURNAMENT
There are few hotter teams in the nation than St. John’s, that bunch that coach Rick Pitino bemoaned not-too-long ago. The Red Storm (19-12) have won five straight to climb onto the NCAA bubble heading into a brutally tough Big East tourney as the No. 5 seed, which means a second-round game against fourth-seeded Seton Hall — another bubble team — on Thursday.
Along with St. John’s and Seton Hall (20-11), No. 7 seed Providence (19-12) will be trying to work its way into the field this week.
BIG TEN TOURNAMENT
Purdue and Illinois know they’re going to the dance. Everyone else? Starting with third-seeded Nebraska, there are eight teams with at least 18 regular-season wins, and each of them can earn an NCAA berth this week in Minneapolis.
Northwestern and Michigan State, along with the Huskers, should feel good about their chances already. But their hopes could get a little dicey if conference rivals such as Indiana, Iowa, Ohio State and Minnesota can string together some wins.
PAC-12 TOURNAMENT
Utah (18-13) put its at-large NCAA hopes in peril with a pair of losses last week, dropping the Utes to the No. 6 seed and a first-round game against Arizona State in the final Pac-12 Tournament as it has been known. One more slip-up could be all Oregon (20-11) or Colorado (22-9) need to feel much more comfortable about its own NCAA Tournament aspirations.
SEC TOURNAMENT
While the Big 12 has rightfully earned a reputation as the nation’s toughest league, the SEC has not been far behind this season, and that could be reflected in the NCAA tourney. Tennessee, Kentucky, Auburn, Alabama, South Carolina and Florida are locks heading to Nashville, while Mississippi State (19-12), Ole Miss (20-11) and Texas A&M (18-13) could give the league up to nine bids.
OTHER TOURNAMENTS
The Mountain West quietly has been one of the deepest conference in the nation, and San Diego State, Utah State, Nevada and Boise State have the quality wins and advanced metrics to merit at-large bids already. Colorado State and New Mexico could give the conference six spots in the field of 68, likely more than the Pac-12 or the ACC.
Other teams that could merit at-large bids if they fail to win their league tourneys include McNeese State (28-3) out of the Southland; Princeton (24-3) from the Ivy League; and Grand Canyon from the WAC.
James Madison (30-3) did all the bubble teams a favor by winning the Sun Belt tourney title Monday night.
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
NO. 5 TEXAS WALLOPS IOWA STATE FOR BIG 12 TITLE
Madison Booker scored 26 points on Tuesday night and No. 5 Texas never trailed in a 70-53 win over Iowa State in the championship game of the Big 12 Conference tournament in Kansas City, Mo.
Aaliyah Moore netted 14 points and Shaylee Gonzales added 11 for the second-seeded Longhorns (30-4), who opened up a 20-point lead before the halfway point of the second quarter and were never really pushed in the second half.
Texas may have a shot at a No. 1 regional seed in the NCAA Tournament with Stanford’s loss to Southern California in the Pac-12 tournament final on Sunday.
Audi Crooks scored 25 points for the fourth-seeded Cyclones (20-11), who thumped top-seeded Oklahoma in a semifinal matchup on Monday but couldn’t quite crack the code against Texas’ defense. Iowa State shot 46.5 percent from the field but committed 20 turnovers that the Longhorns cashed in for 23 points.
The game was decided in a six-plus-minute stretch bridging the first and second quarters. Iowa State fell behind 14-4 but got consecutive 3-pointers from Hannah Belanger to pull within four with 3:25 remaining.
Beginning with Taylor Jones’ putback at the 2:05 mark of the first, Texas took command with a 16-0 run that included 11 straight points to open the second. Booker drilled a 3-pointer to close the first-period scoring, then capped the lengthy burst by scoring off her steal with 5:46 left in the first half.
The Cyclones went 8:55 without scoring before Belanger fed Crooks for a layup with 4:30 remaining before halftime. The margin climbed to 40-18 when Gonzales swished an open 3-pointer before Iowa State’s Kelsey Joens connected on a high-arcing trey just before time expired in the first half.
The second half saw the Cyclones play a better brand of basketball, although they never got the margin below 12. They had a chance to cut it to 10, but Jones blocked an Addy Brown jumper and Booker hit a jumper at the other end as time expired for a 51-37 lead after three quarters.
In the fourth quarter, the Longhorns quickly regained a 20-point cushion and coasted from there.
PORTLAND STUNS NO. 14 GONZAGA TO WIN WCC TITLE
Kennedy Dickie scored 16 points and Emme Shearer hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:39 to play to help Portland upset No. 14 Gonzaga 67-66 in the West Coast Conference championship game on Tuesday in Las Vegas.
Third-seeded Portland (21-12) ended top-seeded Gonzaga’s 24-game winning streak and earned the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year. The Bulldogs (30-3), who beat Portland 90-40 on Feb. 28, should still make the tournament as an at-large team.
In a game that featured 23 lead changes and 17 ties, the Pilots outshot the Bulldogs 54.2 percent to 37.1 percent from the field and 50 percent to 25 percent from deep. Maisie Burnham scored 15 points, Shearer had 12 and Lucy Cochrane posted 11 points and seven rebounds for Portland.
Dickie’s 3-pointer with 5:32 to play put Portland ahead 61-56, but Gonzaga scored the next six points. Finally, Shearer’s triple was the dagger, as Kaylynne Truong made a 2-pointer for the Bulldogs before they missed their final three shots of the game.
Yvonne Ejim had 17 points and 11 rebounds and Eliza Hollingsworth put up 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulldogs, whose last loss came Nov. 26 to a then-No. 20 Louisville team.
MARCH MADNESS: HOW TO WATCH THE WOMEN’S NCAA TOURNAMENT AND WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Women’s basketball is having itself a moment as March Madness arrives.
A year ago, 9.9 million people tuned in to see Angel Reese and LSU beat Caitlin Clark and Iowa in a national championship game made unforgettable by the two stars who backed up their talk with stellar play. The game was on a national network — ABC — for the first time since 1996.
Well, Clark and Reese are back for more and they aren’t alone. Clark has been the talk of the sport all season, making a bid for a second straight Associated Press Player of the Year honor after becoming the all-time leading scorer in Division I history and selling out venues wherever Iowa went.
Everyone, however, is looking up at South Carolina, the top-ranked team for weeks that has put up a second consecutive undefeated season — just in time for the tournament.
HOW TO WATCH
Every game of the women’s tournament will be aired — here is a schedule that will be updated with matchups — on ESPN’s networks and streaming services with select games on ABC. While ESPN will air the Final Four, the title game will be back on ABC just like last season.
BETTING GUIDE
South Carolina is the overwhelming favorite to win its second title in three years and third overall, all since 2017. The top three betting favorites behind the Gamecocks (in order) are Iowa, LSU and Stanford, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
WHO IS PLAYING?
There are 32 automatic bids that go to conference champions and they are combined with 36 at-large picks by the NCAA selection committee. We all find out on Selection Sunday, March 17, when bracket matchups are unveiled.
WHEN ARE THE GAMES?
The First Four matchups (March 20-21) and first- and second-round games (March 22-25) are on campus, with sites announced late March 17.
Sweet 16 weekend ( March 29-April 1) will see games in two sites once again: Albany, New York, and Portland, Oregon.
The Final Four is in Cleveland on Friday, April 5, with the championship game on Sunday, April 7.
BUBBLE TEAMS WATCH MID-MAJOR WOMEN’S TOURNAMENTS, HOPING AGAINST UPSETS AND POTENTIAL LOSS OF BIDS
With most of the major conference tournaments finished, there are some anxious teams waiting to see if their names will be called for the NCAA Tournament on Sunday when the field is announced.
The selection committee has a tough job in determining those final few teams that have a slim margin separating them. Many of the bubble teams that include Vanderbilt, Arizona, Mississippi State, Penn State and Washington State will be paying close attention mid-major tournaments that could snatch those precious bids.
They received some help Monday night with Georgetown falling to UConn in the Big East final. The Hoyas had a remarkable run to the championship game, but never really challenged the No. 10 Huskies, who won their 22nd Big East Tournament title.
IVY LEAGUE
Princeton is the top seed and has a legitimate chance to make the NCAA Tournament as an at-large team if they don’t win the conference crown. The Tigers have a NET ranking of 33. Columbia had a strong season but would probably need to win the tournament, which the Lions are hosting, to get their first-ever NCAA bid. The Ivy League has had an at-large bid before when Princeton received one in 2016.
HORIZON LEAGUE
Cleveland State is the top seed and faced Green Bay for the title Tuesday night. The Phoenix have been to the NCAA Tournament many times and have non-conference wins over Creighton and Washington State. Green Bay piled up 26 wins going into the title game. The Vikings had 29, but don’t have many against top opponents and have a much lower NET ranking.
METRO ATLANTIC ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
No. 25 Fairfield earned its first-ever ranking AP Top 25 last week and became the eighth team to run through conference play undefeated. The Stags have a 26-game winning streak and their lone loss came to Vanderbilt, which is on the NCAA bubble. If Fairfield makes it to the final of the league tournament Saturday and loses they might still have a shot at an at-large bid.
SOUTHWEST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
Jackson State is having a historic season, earning its first vote in the Top 25 and going 18-0 in conference play. The Tigers were 23-6 on the season with the losses coming against Kansas State, Oregon State, Mississippi State, Miami, Texas and UCF. The Tigers didn’t play a home game from the middle of November until early January. They would have to win the conference tournament to make the NCAAs, but it would be something to see them rewarded for having a great season with that challenging non-conference schedule.
NBA NEWS
NBA ROUNDUP: WOLVES TOP CLIPPERS AFTER KAWHI LEONARD’S EXIT
Anthony Edwards scored 37 points, Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 28 and the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves ended a two-game skid on Tuesday by rallying for a 118-100 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, who lost Kawhi Leonard after one quarter.
Mike Conley scored 23 points as the Timberwolves improved to 2-2 since Karl-Anthony Towns went down with a knee injury. Towns underwent surgery earlier Tuesday and will be re-evaluated in four weeks.
Paul George scored 22 points and James Harden added 12 for the Clippers, who have lost two games in a row.
Leonard exited because of back spasms. He played all 12 minutes of the first period and had six points as the Clippers took a 34-21 lead, but Minnesota took over after he exited.
Kings 129, Bucks 94
Harrison Barnes and Kevin Huerter led a first-half barrage of 3-pointers, De’Aaron Fox scored a team-high 29 points and host Sacramento thrashed Milwaukee.
Malik Monk chipped in 25 points and Domantas Sabonis 22 for the Kings, who led by 22 in the second period en route to their third win in four games.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led all scorers with 30 points and added a game-high 13 rebounds for the Bucks, who completed a 1-3 tour of California with their second 35-point loss in seven days.
Celtics 123, Jazz 107
Jayson Tatum tossed in a game-high 38 points and Derrick White made 7 of 11 3-point attempts and scored 24 points as Boston wrapped up a five-game road trip by beating Utah in Salt Lake City.
It was the third straight victory for Boston, which lost the first two games of the trip. Jrue Holiday added 16 points, eight assists and five rebounds for the Celtics, who made 20 of 49 3-point attempts (40.8 percent).
Keyonte George scored 26 points to lead the Jazz. Utah received 21 points from Clarkson and 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists from Collin Sexton.
Knicks 106, 76ers 79
Josh Hart tallied 20 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists while Jalen Brunson added 20 points and nine assists as New York cruised to a victory over visiting Philadelphia.
The Knicks held their opponent to fewer than 80 points for the third straight game, producing a streak of that length for the first time since 2000. OG Anunoby had 14 points and four rebounds in his first game back since sustaining an elbow injury on Jan. 27 and subsequently undergoing surgery.
Kelly Oubre Jr. paced the Sixers with 19 points and six rebounds. Tyrese Maxey had 17 points and four assists in his return after missing four games due to a concussion.
Pacers 121, Thunder 111
Myles Turner scored 24 points to lead Indiana to a victory at Oklahoma City as the Pacers completed a 2-0 road trip.
Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam each added 18 points for Indiana, with Haliburton also dishing out 12 assists and Siakam grabbing 11 rebounds.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander racked up 30 points to go along with 10 boards for the Thunder, whose nine-game home winning streak and three-game overall winning streak ended. Chet Holmgren added 15 points and 13 rebounds.
Grizzlies 109, Wizards 97
Trey Jemison scored a career-high 24 points and GG Jackson added 19 as Memphis led wire to wire in a win over visiting Washington.
Jake LaRavia had 16 points and Luke Kennard finished with 13 points and eight assists for Memphis, which snapped a five-game home losing streak.
Kyle Kuzma led Washington with 24 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Corey Kispert had 22 points as the Wizards failed in a bid for their first three-game winning streak of the season.
Rockets 103, Spurs 101
Fred VanVleet scored 21 points to help Houston beat host San Antonio in a back-and-forth game.
The Rockets won their fourth straight road game, establishing a season best, while getting 16 points from Jalen Green, 15 from Jabari Smith Jr. and 14 from Dillon Brooks.
Tre Jones’ 24 points led all scorers and Jeremy Sochan put up 21 for the Spurs, who lost their second game in as many nights.
NHL NEWS
NHL ROUNDUP: JACK EICHEL’S OT GOAL CAPS KNIGHTS’ RALLY PAST KRAKEN
Jack Eichel scored on a breakaway at 3:01 of overtime, his 200th career NHL goal, as the Vegas Golden Knights rallied to defeat the host Seattle Kraken 5-4 Tuesday night.
Jonathan Marchessault tallied twice for the Golden Knights, including the tying goal with 16.3 seconds left in regulation and the goalie pulled for an extra attacker.
William Karlsson had a goal and an assist and Pavel Dorofeyev also scored for Vegas. Eichel added two assists, and Adin Hill made 26 saves.
Brandon Tanev gave the Kraken a 3-2 lead at 5:21 of the third period. Andre Burakovsky, Matty Beniers and Oliver Bjorkstrand also scored for Seattle, which fell nine points behind the defending Stanley Cup champion Golden Knights for the Western Conference’s second and final wild-card berth. Philipp Grubauer stopped 29 of 34 shots.
Avalanche 6, Flames 2
Mikko Rantanen collected two goals and two assists, while Valeri Nichushkin scored once in a three-point outing as visiting Colorado rode a five-goal second period to a blowout win over Calgary.
Nathan MacKinnon netted one goal and one assist, while Josh Manson and Casey Mittelstadt added singles for the Avalanche, who have won four straight games. Justus Annunen made 25 saves and Devon Toews collected two assists.
Daniil Miromanov and Walker Duehr scored for the Flames, who have lost three straight games. Dan Vladar stopped 29 shots before receiving a mercy hook after giving up all six goals in two periods. Dustin Wolf made three saves in relief.
Flyers 3, Sharks 2
Morgan Frost had one goal and one assist to lift host Philadelphia past San Jose.
Joel Farabee and Owen Tippett each scored one goal while Travis Konecny and Cam York registered two assists apiece. Samuel Ersson made 27 saves. Flyers coach John Tortorella wasn’t on the bench as he was serving the first of a two-game suspension. Associate coach Brad Shaw replaced Tortorella.
Filip Zadina scored both goals for the Sharks, who have dropped 10 of their past 11 games. Luke Kunin recorded two assists, and Magnus Chrona stopped 38 shots.
Senators 2, Penguins 1 (OT)
Drake Batherson scored on a one-timer from the bottom of the left circle at 3:13 of overtime as Ottawa snapped a seven-game losing streak by beating visiting Pittsburgh.
Jake Sanderson added a goal and assist for the Senators, who were 0-6-1 on their skid. Joonas Korpisalo made 34 saves and picked up his first win since Feb. 10.
Michael Bunting scored for the Penguins, who have lost four straight and seven of eight. Tristan Jarry made 37 saves.
Canadiens 3, Blue Jackets 0
Cayden Primeau made 22 of his 41 saves in the first period as host Montreal rode a fast start to a shutout victory over Columbus.
Making his first start since Jake Allen was traded to the New Jersey Devils on Friday, Primeau turned aside all 11 shots he faced in the third period to preserve his second career shutout. Brendan Gallagher scored 21 seconds into the game and Juraj Slafkovsky and Joshua Roy also tallied to stake Montreal to a 3-0 lead within the first six minutes.
Columbus’ Elvis Merzlikins yielded three goals on four shots before being replaced by Daniil Tarasov, who turned aside all 19 shots he faced.
Panthers 4, Stars 3
Aleksander Barkov tallied two goals and an assist to lead Florida to a wild comeback win over host Dallas.
Dallas led 3-1 after two periods and the Panthers erupted for three goals within a 3:29 span in the final set. Barkov scored two power-play goals during that surge, with the forward’s deflected goal at 14:38 mark standing as the winner. Sam Bennett scored the equalizer in between Barkov’s two tallies. Matthew Tkachuk, Carter Verhaeghe and Brandon Montour each had two assists.
Joe Pavelski, Jason Robertson and Wyatt Johnston each had a goal and an assist for Dallas. Jake Oettinger stopped 26 of 30 shots.
Rangers 1, Hurricanes 0
Igor Shesterkin made 28 saves for his second shutout in a row as New York defeated Carolina in a battle of the top two teams in the Metropolitan Division in Raleigh, N.C.
Adam Fox had the New York goal in the final seconds of the first period, allowing the Rangers to stretch their winning streak to three games.
Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 23 shots, but the Hurricanes saw a three-game winning streak come to an end.
Sabres 7, Red Wings 3
Bowen Byram scored two goals and host Buffalo handed Detroit its sixth consecutive loss.
Zach Benson had a goal and two assists. Alex Tuch, Jeff Skinner, Connor Clifton and JJ Peterka also had goals for the Sabres, who scored four times in the first period. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 21 saves.
Lucas Raymond had a goal and an assist for Detroit. Ben Chiarot and Jake Walman had the Wings’ other goals.
Wild 4, Coyotes 1
Kirill Kaprizov had two goals and one assist as Minnesota pulled away for a win over Arizona in Saint Paul, Minn.
Ryan Hartman and Marcus Foligno also scored for the Wild, who extended their point streak to five games (4-0-1). Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 21 of 22 shots to earn the victory.
Nick Bjugstad scored the lone goal for the Coyotes, who have lost four of their past five games. Karel Vejmelka took the loss despite stopping 27 of 29 shots.
Blackhawks 7, Ducks 2
Philipp Kurashev scored twice and added two assists, Connor Bedard had a goal and four assists and Nick Foligno logged four assists to boost host Chicago to a rout of Anaheim.
Chicago tallied three power-play goals. Held to 10 goals during a seven-game losing streak from Feb. 19-March 4, the Blackhawks have erupted for 20 goals while winning three of their past four.
The Ducks, playing the opener of a four-game road trip, have lost three straight.
BASEBALL NEWS
SPRING TRAINING ROUNDUP: ORIOLES ERUPT EARLY, FEND OFF RAYS
The Baltimore Orioles jumped out to an eight-run lead after two innings and held off the visiting Tampa Bay Rays 12-8 in spring training action on Tuesday in Sarasota, Fla.
Jordan Westburg capped Baltimore’s five-run first with a three-run homer. Adley Rutschman went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and Ramon Urias and Daniel Johnson both went deep as part of a 15-hit attack. Starter Tyler Wells (2-0) gave up one run over four innings.
Taj Bradley was slated to start for Tampa Bay but felt tightness in his chest muscle and was sent for an MRI. Erasmo Ramirez (0-2) started and gave up eight runs on eight hits in three innings. Rob Brantly homered twice and Randy Arozarena hit his first spring dinger for the Rays.
Cardinals 8, Red Sox 6
Alec Burleson and Ivan Herrera went deep and drove in two runs apiece as visiting St. Louis roughed up Boston starter Brayan Bello in Fort Myers, Fla.
Fresh off signing a six-year, $55 million deal last week, Bello (0-1) was charged with four runs on six hits over three innings. Trevor Story hit his first homer of the spring and went 3-for-3 with three RBIs. Ceddanne Rafaela also homered for the Red Sox.
Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore (2-0) had a rough outing, giving up five runs on seven hits in four innings, but struck out five and picked up the win.
Blue Jays 8, Yankees 1
Justin Tuner went 3-for-3 with two RBIs as Toronto collected 12 hits and cruised over visiting New York in Dunedin, Fla.
Santiago Espinal and Daulton Varsho each added two RBIs to back starter Jose Berrios (1-0), who tossed 3 1/3 innings of one-run ball.
Jose Rojas went 2-for-3 with an RBI single for the Yankees. Reliever Duane Underwood Jr. (0-1) was saddled with the loss, yielding two runs (one earned) on three hits in 1 1/3 innings.
Astros 9, Marlins 1
Sparked by a six-run outburst in the fourth inning, Houston rolled to victory over host Miami in Jupiter, Fla.
In the fourth, Grae Kessinger and Yordan Alvarez delivered two-run hits, while Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman notched RBIs. Starter Hunter Brown (2-0) gave up five hits in 3 2/3 innings but struck out four and allowed only an unearned run.
Marlins starter Jesus Luzardo (0-2) had a tough outing, giving up three runs on five hits over 3 1/3 innings with four strikeouts.
Pirates 5, Braves 1
Oneil Cruz led off the bottom of the first inning with his fourth spring homer, sparking host Pittsburgh to a win over Atlanta in Bradenton, Fla.
Billy McKinney capped the Pirates’ four-run sixth with a three-run shot after Jack Suwinski went deep earlier in the inning. Six pitchers limited the Braves to just two hits, with Josh Fleming (1-0) picking up the win after two scoreless innings of relief.
Joe Jimenez (0-1) took the loss for the Braves, though he gave up just one run in 1 1/3 innings. Jarred Kelenic had Atlanta’s lone RBI and stole a base.
Tigers 1, Twins 0
In a pitchers’ duel, Detroit’s Kenta Maeda tossed four scoreless innings in a win over visiting Minnesota in Lakeland, Fla.
Maeda (1-1) gave up just one hit, walked two and struck out seven, outdueling the Twins’ Joe Ryan (1-1), who allowed the game’s only run over his four innings. Ryan yielded three hits and struck out six with no walks.
Javier Baez’s second-inning sacrifice fly plated Kerry Carpenter, who had tripled to lead off the inning.
DARRYL STRAWBERRY RESTING COMFORTABLY AFTER HEART ATTACK, ACCORDING TO NEW YORK METS
LAKE ST. LOUIS, Mo. (AP) — Former New York Mets and Yankees star Darryl Strawberry is recovering from a heart attack and is at SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital.
Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz said Tuesday that Strawberry was stricken Monday, a day before the eight-time All-Star’s 62nd birthday.
Strawberry posted a photo of himself at the hospital on Instagram and wrote: “I am so happy and honored to report that all is well.”
“So thankful for the medical team and staff at St. Joseph West in Lake St. Louis for responding so quickly and bringing me through a stent-procedure that has brought my heart to total restoration!!!” Strawberry added.
Strawberry, who lives in O’Fallon, Missouri, is resting comfortably, Horwitz said.
The Mets will retire Strawberry’s No. 18 on June 1, after retiring Dwight Gooden’s No. 16 on April 14. The pair led the team to the 1986 World Series title.
“We are looking forward to Straw’s speedy recovery and welcoming him for his number retirement ceremony on June 1,” Mets owner Steven Cohen and wife Alex said in a statement.
Strawberry was a seven-time All-Star during his time with the Mets from 1983-90, winning NL Rookie of the Year in 1983.
He hit .259 with 335 homers, 1,000 RBIs and 221 stolen bases in 17 seasons that also included time with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1991-93), San Francisco Giants (1994) and New York Yankees (1995-99). He was a part of three World Series championship teams with the Yankees.
Strawberry’s career was derailed by drug and alcohol issues, and also by colon cancer treatment that caused him to miss the 1998 World Series.
YANKEES STAR AARON JUDGE EXPECTS TO BE READY FOR OPENING DAY AFTER MRI OF ABDOMEN
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — New York Yankees star Aaron Judge expects to be ready for opening day on March 28 after an MRI exam of his abdomen.
Judge started feeling discomfort with his abdomen during his swing’s follow-through about a week ago and the 31-year-old has not taken on-field batting practice the past few days. He lasted played Sunday, striking out in both at-bats, and said he expects to resume swinging a bat this week.
“We ran tests. Everything comes back good,” Judge said Tuesday, one day after the MRI. “A little banged up. The most important thing is opening day, and I rather take some days now and be smart about it.”
Judge is “pretty sure” he will ready for the opener at Houston. He continues defensive drills and running.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said while the team still was awaiting tests on the right elbow of AL Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole, it would be difficult for the ace to build up enough to start the opener.
Judge missed 42 games last season with a torn ligament in his right big toe, an injury sustained when he ran into Dodger Stadium’s right-field fence on June 3, He started his off-season hitting program in November.
“I think just from swinging from November all the way until now every single day kind of get some wear and tear on it,” Judge said, “And especially coming back after a toe injury when you’re trying to, you know, mechanics are a little messed up and you’re just working on something. So I think it’s just part of being a baseball player every day.”
INDIANA SPORTS RELEASES
INDIANA BOYS BASKETBALL
ALL-MARON COUNTY TEAM
First team
Azavier Robinson, Lawrence North, Jr. (POY)
K.J. Windham, Ben Davis, Sr.
Evan Haywood, Brebeuf Jesuit, Sr.
Mark Zackery, Ben Davis, Jr.
E.J. Hazelett, Franklin Central, Soph.
Second team
Jevon Guess, Warren Central, Jr.
Papi Rivera, North Central, Jr.
Kobi Bowles, Lawrence North, Sr.
Drew Kegerreis, Roncalli, Sr.
KC Berry, Decatur Central, Sr.
Third team
Damon Howard, Pike, Jr.
Hudson Horvath, Park Tudor, Jr.
Lonte Ward Jr., Lutheran, Jr.
Albert Gooden III, Lawrence Central, Soph.
James Kalala, Southport, Soph.
Honorable mention
Beech Grove: Jarron Murry, Jr.
Ben Davis: Mark White, Tavion Williams
Brebeuf Jesuit: Javawn Brooks, Reis Butcher
Decatur Central: Melakih Cunningham
Lawrence Central: Doron Harris
Lawrence North: Kai McGrew, Brennan Miller
Lutheran: Cayden Loescher
North Central: Jaxson Bell, Tim Williams
Southport: Michael Johnson
Speedway: Drew Matelic, Cam Reich
Warren Central: Nick Glover, Robert Walker
COLTS FOOTBALL
COLTS SIGN DEFENSIVE HELP
Indianapolis agreed to terms on a two-year, $14 million deal with Dolphins nose tackle Raekwon Davis on Tuesday. Davis is a 6-foot-7, 325-pounder who was a second-round pick by Miami in 2020.
Indianapolis has re-signed Pro Bowl cornerback. The deal is for three years and $30 million.
The Colts are preparing a three-year deal to keep punter Rigoberto Sanchez with the team. Sanchez set career highs in yards per punt (48.3) and net punting (42.8).
INDIANA PACERS NEWS
GAME REWIND: PACERS 121, THUNDER 111
Going into the fourth quarter against the No. 1-ranked team in the Western Conference, Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlslie had a message for his team: play fearlessly.
The Pacers heeded those words in the Sooner State, fighting to the final buzzer in a hostile environment to pull off one of their most impressive wins of the season.
On Tuesday night, the Pacers (37-29) posted a 121-111 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder (45-20) at Paycom Center to complete a two-game road trip. Going into Tuesday’s matchup, the Thunder had won nine straight at home, 16 of their last 17 games in OKC, and were 26-6 in their own arena.
The win moved the Pacers into sixth place in a tight Eastern Conference race. With 16 games remaining on the Pacers’ schedule, just 2.5 games separate the fourth through eighth seeds in the East.
Indiana held OKC to a season-low 17 points in the first quarter and led by 12 at halftime before holding off multiple Thunder pushes in the final 24 minutes. While the Thunder threatened late, they never went up by more than a point in the game.
The Pacers led by one with 8:34 left in the game before a 9-1 run gave the Blue & Gold a small cushion. Down the final stretch, Tyrese Haliburton hit a pair of big shots and the Pacers made all six of their free-throw attempts to seal the game.
Indiana shot 53.9 percent from the field while holding the Thunder, which have the second-best shooting average in the league at 49.9 percent, to 43.4 percent shooting.
Six Pacers players scored in double figures, led by 25 points and four blocks from Myles Turner. After Turner, Pascal Siakam had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Blue & Gold and Haliburton also achieved a double-double with 18 points and 12 assists.
“An important game for us and a great win in a tough, tough place against a tough team,” Pacers head coach Rick Carilsle said. “Our best players led us in this game: Ty, Pascal, and Myles. They set the tone early and everyone followed.”
MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander topped the Thunder with 30 points (12-for-27 shooting) and 10 rebounds, Lu Dort scored 18, and rookie big man Chet Holmgren logged 15 points and 13 rebounds for OKC.
The Thunder played without starting forward Jalen Williams, who is averaging 19.0 points per game, due to an ankle sprain. In his stead, Indiana native and Butler University legend Gordon Hayward was inserted into the first five for OKC.
In the first half, the Thunder shot just 35.6 percent from the field to Indiana’s 52.2 percent, as the visitors built a 58-46 lead. Turner had 15 points at the break to lead all scorers, while Gilgous-Alexander led the Thunder with 11.
The Pacers held OKC to its fewest points scored in a first quarter this season — which also matched its fewest scored by the Thunder in any quarter this season — as the Blue & Gold led 22-17 at the end of the first frame. In the opening 12 minutes, the Thunder shot just 26.9 percent from the field.
Indiana made its first five shots following the tip, with Turner connecting on a trio of baskets for seven points, while OKC started 1-for-6 from the field, as the Pacers led 11-2 three minutes into the game.
The Thunder responded with 3-pointers from Holmgren and Dort to make it a five-point game, but both teams scored seven points in the final 4:57 as the Pacers maintained the five-point lead.
Siakam scored seven of the Pacers’ first 10 points of the second quarter, capped by an and-one, to help the visitors to a 30-20 lead before two baskets by T.J. McConnell and a 3-pointer from Jarace Walker put the Blue & Gold ahead 37-27 with 8:04 left in the first half.
The Thunder got as close as seven points twice before the break, but in the final 3:24 of the half, the Pacers closed on a 14-8 scoring string, which featured 3-pointers from Andrew Nembhard and Haliburton, to stay ahead by 12.
OKC scored 41 points in the third quarter, but never led by more than a point in the frame. An 8-0 scoring streak by the Pacers to close the period helped the visitors stay ahead 94-87 going into the final 12 minutes
OKC turned two Pacers turnovers into baskets in the first 90 seconds of the third quarter, and added a pair of made free throws, to cut it to 60-54 and force an Indiana timeout.
The Thunder then got as close as three points twice before using a 15-7 run, punctuated by a 3-pointer from Isaiah Joe, gave OKC their first lead of the game at 85-84 with 2:05 left in the third quarter.
In the final 1:21 of the third, the Pacers finished on an 8-0 spree thanks to four free throws from Jalen Smith and layups by Ben Sheppard and McConnell.
OKC closed with a point at 99-98 early in the fourth quarter, but a 9-1 run by the Pacers from 8:11 to 5:04, which featured four different scorers and ended with a Nembhard three, gave the visitors a 108-99 lead with 5:04 left in the game.
After the Thunder cut it to six points, Turner got a bank shot to fall and Haliburton finished a layup and drilled a 3-pointer to make it 115-105 with 1:51 left. In the final seconds, Nembhard went 4-for-4 from the line and Siakam made both his free throw attempts to seal it.
The Thunder outrebounded the Pacers 50-43 but were outscored 72-52 in the paint and 23-3 in fastbreak points.
The Pacers kicks off a three-game home stand when they host the Chicago Bulls (31-34) tomorrow at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
“We just gotta keep plugging away,” Haliburton said. “It has to be a one game at a time mentality, that’s the biggest thing for us right now. Not focusing on what’s to come moving forward or the games we’ve lost in the past. Just taking it one day at a time, focusing on what’s in front of us. Everything else will take care of itself.”
Inside the Numbers
Tyrese Haliburton achieved his 37th double-double of the season and Pascal Siakam logged his fifth.
Center Myles Turner had four blocks in the game for the Pacers. He has 14 blocks combined over the last three games.
Siakam has scored in double figures in all 24 games he’s played for the Pacers this season.
Indiana made just nine 3-pointers to OKC’s 14 treys. The Pacers are 6-14 when making fewer threes than their opponents this season.
The Thunder had 12 turnovers and the Pacers finished with nine.
The Pacers dished out 34 assists as a team.
All 10 players that took the floor for the Pacers recorded a made basket.
You Can Quote Me On That
“Our defense has been really good the last four games. We have taken on a tone where we have the ability to make it tough. They missed some shots they normally make, probably, but our guys were working to make it hard on them. … The guys that played in the game played their hearts out.” – Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle on the team’s defense
“All you can try to do is make it hard. The guy is going to be First Team All-NBA. He led the league in scoring this year and is (second) this year. He is a major reason why they are first in the West.” – Carlisle on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
“They are becoming young, veteran players. When you attach the word veteran on to a guy that’s a young player, you’re giving them a compliment. Both of those guys …. bring a consistent level of passion, effort and force to our team on both ends. Right now, we would be in big trouble without those guys.“ – Carlisle on Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith and taking on tough defensive assignments
“Myles is doing a good job of reading the situations and knowing the right shots to take at the right times. The fact he’s a legitimate three-level scorer is a problem for defenses. The thing that is really, really important is that he is putting rim pressure on the defense as much as possible and mixing in the short rolls and pops. … Tonight he made big shots. Once again, he was a major force at the rim defensively. He’s one of our leaders.” – Carlisle on Turner
“Games like tonight are the reason you make a trade for a guy like Pascal Siakam. He can create, has length defensively, he can effect shots at the rim defensively, and rebounds. His last-ditch effort to get the ball in the basket, he was the guy who got a piece of it, got the rebound, and that was pretty much the game. He has been in these situations. He has been in a lot of big games. He has been at a championship level. What he has brought to our team is very, very important.” – Carlisle on Siakam
“We’re playing with more effort and more energy. More intensity. We’re paying attention to detail and it’s paying off. I think it’s important for us to keep that going into the playoffs and finish these 16 left.” – Aaron Nesmith on recent wins
“I think that should be the motto for the rest of the season. Continue to play with intensity, effort, energy, and be fearless no matter who is in front of us.” – Nesmith on Carlisle’s fourth-quarter message of being fearless
“Now it’s time to sustain it. This time of year it’s important. I think the coaching staff did a good job of hammering in that message that defense is everything.” – Turner on the recent defensive play
“It has been a team effort. Everyone needs to be locked in to get stops out here.” – Nembhard on the defensive effort
“I think these two games were a good confidence boost.” – Nembhard on the two recent road wins
“I thought he was amazing today. He did a great job of being aggressive, especially early in the game. That opened everything for skips and everything else for everybody. When he rolls, it’s not just about him – it opens things up for me and everyone else around him. I think he’s just been amazing the last two games.” – Haliburton on Turner
Stat of the Night
Indiana held Oklahoma City to just 17 points on 26.9 percent shooting in the first quarter. The 17 points are the fewest for the Thunder in a first quarter this season and also matches the fewest points scored in any quarter by OKC.
Noteworthy
Myles Turner is seven blocks away from passing Jermaine O’Neal (1,245 blocks) as the all-time franchise block leader.
Indiana and Oklahoma City have split a pair of games each of the last two seasons. The teams will finish their season series on April 5 in Indianapolis.
Pacers forward Doug McDermott has missed seven straight games with a calf strain.
The Thunder are 13-17 versus the Pacers during the Oklahoma City era. OKC is 7-7 at home against the Pacers in this span and 6-10 at Indianapolis.
Jalen Smith needs six rebounds to reach 1,000 for his career.
Up Next
The Pacers will be back at Gainbridge Fieldhouse to tip off a three-game homestand against DeMar DeRozan and the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday, March 13 at 7:00 PM ET.
GAME PREVIEW: PACERS VS BULLS
After sweeping a two-game road trip with a pair of impressive victories, the Pacers (37-29) return to Gainbridge Fieldhouse for a three-game homestand that begins on Wednesday against Chicago (31-34).
After winning on Sunday in Orlando and again on Tuesday in Oklahoma City, Indiana has moved into sixth place in the Eastern Conference with 16 games remaining. That’s an important position, as the top six teams in the final standings automatically qualify for the playoffs and avoid having to take part in the Play-In Tournament.
PLAYOFF PICTURE: Track the Latest Standings, Potential Matchups, and More >>
The biggest key to the Pacers’ recent success has been their defense. They held Orlando to just 97 points on 37.5 percent shooting on Sunday night, then followed that up by limiting the Thunder to just 17 first quarter points en route to a 121-111 victory in Oklahoma City. The Pacers limited OKC to 43.4 points and just three fastbreak points on Tuesday.
Veteran center Myles Turner has been anchoring the defense. The 6-11 center has shown why he has twice led the NBA in blocks, swatting 14 shots over his last three games. He now has 1,239 career blocks, just six shy of Jermaine O’Neal’s franchise record.
The Bulls had won three straight and four of five before dropping their past two contests on Saturday in Los Angeles against the Clippers and back home on Monday against the Mavericks.
Despite having three projected starters (Lonzo Ball, Zach LaVine, and Patrick Williams) sidelined due to surgery, the Bulls remain in ninth place in the East and in position to still have a chance to qualify for the playoffs via the Play-In.
Veteran stalwarts DeMar DeRozan (23 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game) and Nikola Vucevic (18.1 points and 10.7 rebounds) lead Chicago’s offensive attack, but 24-year-old guard Coby White has also enjoyed a breakout season. The seventh overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, White is averaging 19.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.2 assists — all career highs — while shooting 38.8 percent from 3-point range.
Projected Starters
Pacers: G – Tyrese Haliburton, G – Andrew Nembhard, F – Aaron Nesmith, F – Pascal Siakam, C – Myles Turner
Bulls: G – Coby White, G – Ayo Dosunmu, F – Alex Caruso, F – DeMar DeRozan, C – Nikola Vucevic
Injury Report
Pacers: James Johnson – questionable (illness), Bennedict Mathurin – out (right shoulder labral tear), Doug McDermott – out (right calf strain)
Bulls: Torrey Craig – probable (right ankle sprain), Julian Phillips – questionable (sore right foot), Lonzo Ball – out (left knee surgery), Zach LaVine – out (right midfoot surgery), Patrick Williams – out (left midfoot surgery)
Last Meeting
Dec. 28, 2023: Tyrese Haliburton’s historic night lifted Indiana to a 120-104 win over the Bulls in Chicago. Haliburton tallied 21 points, 20 assists, and zero turnovers in the win, becoming just the second player ever to have 20 points and 20 assists without a giveaway in a game.
“I just have done a terrible job taking care of the ball lately, so it’s good to see zero turnovers again,” Haliburton said of his performance. “And you don’t get 20 assists without guys making shots. So just spreading the ball around, if guys are making shots for me a lot of guys are contributing.”
Myles Turner had a team-high 24 points to go along with six rebounds and three blocks in the victory. Buddy Hield added 19 points off the bench while going 5-for-10 from 3-point range, Jalen Smith added 15 points and seven rebounds, and Bennedict Mathurin scored 15.
Patrick Williams scored 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting for Chicago. DeMar DeRozan added 21 points, five rebounds, and five assists in the loss.
Noteworthy
The Pacers and Bulls are tied 1-1 on the season, with the road team winning both games. The Bulls won 112-105 on Oct. 30 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse before Indiana got revenge on Dec. 28 in Chicago. After Wednesday, they will meet once more on March 27 in Chicago.
With a win on Wednesday, Indiana would secure a winning record at home for the season. The Pacers had a winning record on their home floor for 31 consecutive seasons from 1989-90 to 2019-20, but had a losing record at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in each of the last three seasons.
The Bulls roster features two former Pacers: Torrey Craig (2021-22) and Terry Taylor (2021-23). The Pacers have two former Bulls in Doug McDermott (2014-17) and James Johnson (2009-11).
Indiana is just 2-9 on the season when playing on the second night of a back-to-back.
Broadcast Information (TV and Radio Listings >>)
TV: Bally Sports Indiana – Chris Denari (play-by-play), Quinn Buckner (analyst), Jeremiah Johnson (sideline reporter/host)
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan – Mark Boyle (play-by-play), Eddie Gill (analyst), Pat Boylan (sideline reporter/host)
Tickets
The Pacers will be back at Gainbridge Fieldhouse to tip off a three-game homestand against DeMar DeRozan and the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday, March 13 at 7:00 PM ET.
FUEL HOCKEY
INDY FUEL PIT STOP: WEEK 21
INDY FUEL WEEK TWENTY RESULTS 1-1-0-0
INDY FUEL OVERALL RECORD 30-21-5-1 (tied for 2nd in Central Division)
GAME 56 – FRIDAY, MARCH 8 AT KALAMAZOO – 4-1 W
The Fuel took to Kalamazoo for Dumb and Dumber Night against the Wings. A hot first period stayed with the Fuel all night as they would go on to get a much-needed win 4-1 against Kalamazoo.
GAME 57 – SATURDAY, MARCH 10 AT FORT WAYNE – 4-3 L
The Fuel headed to Fort Wayne after a night off to finish their weekend against their division rivals, the Komets. Ultimately, the Fuel could not come back in time after giving up two goals in the first period and fell to the Komets, 4-3.
ROSTER MOVES
Nick Grima signed SPC (03/05)
Cam Hillis released from Hartford Wolf Pack PTO (03/08)
Marcel Marcel loaded from Rockford (03/08)
Andrew Perrott loaned from Rockford (03/08)
OIL DROPS
Jon Martin scored his 20th goal of the season against the K-Wings on Saturday. He currently leads the team with 21 goals.
Mitchell Weeks and Zach Driscoll are ranked 18th and 19th respectively among ECHL goaltenders. They have a joint save percentage of over .897.
Bryan Lemos recorded his 100th Fuel point with a goal on Friday against Kalamazoo.
Colin Bilek is on a three-game goal scoring streak after a goal in each game this weekend.
TEAM NOTES
The Fuel outshot both of their opponents over the weekend, with SOG reaching over 30 in both contests.
Over the weekend, the Fuel allowed four power play goals. They are ranked 24th in the league in road penalty kills but ranked 8th in home penalty kills.
This weekend, the Fuel play another mountain division opponent. The last time they played a mountain division opponent, they got swept at home.
INDY FUEL WEEK 21 SCHEDULE
GAME 58 – FRIDAY, MARCH 15 VS. TULSA
GAME 59 – SATURDAY, MARCH 16 VS. TULSA
GAME 60 – SUNDAY, MARCH 17 AT CINCINNATI
BROADCAST
Don’t miss a moment of the action! Get your tickets to an Indy Fuel game or tune in live!
UPCOMING FAN EXPERIENCES AND EVENTS
Get ready for lots of fun at Indiana Farmers Coliseum in 2024! Check out some of our upcoming promotions and special fan experiences!
Friday, March 15 – Come out to Indiana Farmers Coliseum to celebrate Indy Fuel hockey, family, faith, and fellowship sponsored by Citizens Energy Group for Faith and Family Night! Also START YOUR ENGINES! It’s USAC Racing Night too. Check out a real car from USAC Racing and meet drivers! PLUS enjoy unlimited hot dogs, popcorn and chips! Act fast, these tickets are flying by.
Saturday, March 16 – Don your greenest attire to cheer on the Fuel in their game against the Tulsa Oilers–all while sipping on a green beverage. After the game, bid on the Fuel’s St. Patrick’s Day jerseys! It’s also Indy 500 Night! Plus … are you lucky? Before the game, join us for Pregame Bingo. Greenlight Entertainment will host bingo in the Taproom!
INDY ELEVEN
BLAKE, BOUDADI OPEN 2024 ON USL CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM OF THE WEEK
TAMPA/INDIANAPOLIS (Tuesday, March 12, 2024) – Indy Eleven placed two players on the USL Championship Team of the Week for their efforts in the season opener at Oakland Roots SC this past Saturday, league officials announced Tuesday.
Jack Blake and Younes Boudadi cracked the first XI of the season, making the Boys in Blue the only squad with two players on the list.
Indy Eleven’s preseason goal leader Blake continued the scoring in match one of the regular season, grabbing the initial equalizer in the 43rd minute of action. In 90 minutes of action, Blake led the Indy attack with a match-high six total shots, including a pair on frame. Defensively, Blake won a team-high 11 of 16 duels contested and notched 12 recoveries.
This is Blake’s second nod from the league since joining the Eleven, picking up a bench selection in week 14 of the 2023 regular season.
Boudadi, who assisted on Blake’s goal, led or shared the team lead in interceptions (3) and tackles won (2) in 75 total minutes. Boudadi completed 81% (34/42) of his passes, created four chances and won six duels.
No stranger to weekly honors, Boudadi earned a pair of USL Team of the Week accolades (Week 9, Week 26) in 2023, while adding a pair of bench selections (Week 23, Week 25).
Bench: Alex Tambakis (NM), Bryan Tamacas (OAK), Akeem Ward (MEM), Jeciel Cedeno (OAK), Aaron Molloy (CHS), Andrew Booth (MIA), Nighte Pickering (MEM)
Indy travels to Memphis 901 FC Saturday for a 4 p.m. kickoff with action streaming on ESPN+.
INDIANA BASEBALL
HOOSIERS FALL TO NO. 9 COMMODORES
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Trailing by eight runs through two innings, the Indiana Baseball team (9-7) faced a deficit it could not erase on Tuesday night at Hawkins Field; falling to No. 9 Vanderbilt 13-5.
A pitching staff, stretched thin through injury and a run of eight games in 10 days, got hit early and often by Vanderbilt’s potent offense. Redshirt freshman Jacob Vogel and freshman Ryan Rushing helped manage the damage in innings five through seven, allowing just one run, to keep the contest going. Rushing went three innings and struck out three batters.
IU closed the deficit after scoring four runs in the fourth inning but the Commodores responded with the next five runs to expand their comfortable lead. Junior catcher Brock Tibbitts finished with a pair of hits while freshman infielder Jasen Oliver connected on his first career hit.
The Hoosiers return home on Wednesday night against Illinois State, hoping to kick start a run of wins at Bart Kaufman Field this week.
Scoring Recap
Bottom First
Vanderbilt jumped on the board early as the first five batters stepped to the plate and recorded hits. Davis Diaz doubled to score the first run of the game. Three-consecutive singles off of IU starter Seti Manase helped put the Commodores up six after the first inning of work.
Vanderbilt 6, Indiana 0
Bottom Second
Designated hitter Alan Espinal got a hold of a pitch low in the zone from IU reliever Grant Holderfield, driving a two-run home run into the left field bleachers to extend Vanderbilt’s lead.
Vanderbilt 8, Indiana 0
Top Fourth
The Hoosiers cracked into the Vanderbilt lead, bringing all nine batters to the plate. Tyler Cerny, Joey Brenczewski, Morgan Colopy and Cal Sefcik all drove in runs to get back in the ballgame.
Vanderbilt 8, Indiana 4
Bottom Fourth
Vanderbilt answered IU’s four runs with four of its own in the bottom of the inning, extending the lead back out to eight runs. Matthew Polk took IU reliever Eli Shaw deep into left field for the Commodores’ second home run of the game.
Vanderbilt 12, Indiana 4
Bottom Seventh
RJ Austin singled into center field, driving Jonathan Vastine around to score.
Vanderbilt 13, Indiana 4
Top Eighth
Nick Mitchell drove in the fifth run of the game for IU, grounding out to the shortstop as Tyler Cerny came around to score.
Vanderbilt 13, Indiana 5
Notes to Know
• Junior infielder Brock Tibbitts recorded the 165th and 166th hits of his collegiate career on Saturday. He also extended his streak of consecutive starts, without missing a game, to 135 games. Tibbitts now has six multi-hit games on the year.
• Junior infielder Josh Pyne tallied the 171st of his career, moving closer to the 200-hit plateau in Bloomington. He’s hitting a collective .312 across three seasons at IU.
• Freshman pitcher Ryan Rushing threw a career-high three innings, striking out three batters while conceding just two hits and one run. Redshirt freshman pitcher Jacob Vogel also added a scoreless inning and relief.
• Freshman infielder Jasen Oliver recorded his first career hit, singling off the left field wall in the eighth inning.
Top Hoosier Performers
#9 Tibbitts, Brock
2-5, 1 R
#34 Rushing, Ryan
3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1. ER
Up Next
IU returns home to meet Illinois State for a second midweek contest this week. The contest will be available via BTN+ or can be heard on the Indiana Sports Radio Network via IUHoosiers.com/Audio.
INDIANA MEN’S GOLF
INDIANA TIES FOR FOURTH AT THE SEMINOLE INTERCOLLEGIATE
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Indiana men’s golf team shot an 881 (297-293-291; +17) and tied for fourth at the Seminole Intercollegiate played from March 11-12 at the Seminole Legacy Golf Club.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Seminole Intercollegiate • Tallahassee, Fla.
Seminole Legacy Golf Club
Par 72 • 7,505 yards
Live Scoring via GolfStat
Team Standings: t-4th/14 – 881 (297-293-291; +17)
Top Indiana Player: Drew Salyers – 221 (72-77-72; +5)
CHIP-INS
• Senior Drew Salyers paced the Hoosiers with a t-19 finish after shooting a 221 (72-77-72; +5). His three rounds consisted of six total birdies.
• Sixth-year senior Noah Gillard finished strong to tie for 23rd at 222 (75-76-71; +6). He made a team-best 10 birdies throughout the tournament.
• Freshman Cole Starnes matched Gillard with a scorecard of 222 (75-74-73; +6) to tie for 23rd. He knocked down eight birdie attempts.
• Graduate Thomas Hursey placed t-35th after shooting a 225 (75-70-80; +9). He second round of 70 (-2) included four birdies. His week included seven total birdies.
• Redshirt junior Robert Bender III tied for 35th with a three-round scorecard reading of 225 (77-73-75; +9). He finished the week with five birdie conversions.
• Competing as an individual, junior Kieran Hogarth shot a 238 (77-78-83; +22).
HOOSIERS IN THE STANDINGS
t-19. Drew Salyers – 221 (72-77-72; +5)
t-23. Noah Gillard – 222 (75-76-71; +6)
t-23. Cole Starnes – 222 (75-74-73; +6)
t-35. Thomas Hursey – 225 (75-70-80; +9)
t-35. Robert Bender III – 225 (77-73-75; +9)
t-79. Kieran Hogarth * – 238 (77-78-83; +22)
*Competed as an individual
UP NEXT
Next for the Hoosiers, a group of individuals will compete in the Butler Spring Invitational from April 1-2. Team competition will resume with the Hoosier Collegiate from April 6-7 at The Pfau Course.
INDIANA MEN’S BASKEBALL
HOOSIER TRIO SELECTED TO ALL-BIG TEN TEAMS
ROSEMONT, Ill. – Freshman forward Mackenzie Mgbako, sophomore forward Malik Reneau, and sophomore center Kel’el Ware were honored by the Big Ten Conference, and the league’s coaches and media as All-Big Ten selections and specialty teams were announced on Tuesday afternoon.
Mgbako was selected to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team and was awarded Co-Big Ten Freshman of the Year by the conference coaches. He is the 14th Hoosier since the inception of the team in 2003 to be placed on the All-Freshman Team.
The Hoosiers are the first Big Ten program to win consecutive Freshman of the Year accolades (Jalen Hood-Schifino, 2023) since Michigan State’s Miles Bridges (2017) and Jaren Jackson Jr. (2018).
Mgbako paced the Hoosiers with 49 made 3-pointers and averaged 12.2 points and 4.0 rebounds per contest. He led all freshman across the Big Ten in total points (377), points per game (12.2), 20-point games (3), and made free throws (82), finished second in made 3-pointers (49), and ended third in total rebounds (123).
Ware, a transfer from Oregon, was selected to the All-Big Ten Second Team by the media and Third Team by the coaches. He was also named to the All-Defensive Team. He is the fourth player in program history to be named to the All-Defensive Team, a team first formed following the 2005-06 season.
The North Little Rock, Ark., native averaged a team-best 16.1 points (11th in the Big Ten), 9.8 rebounds (2nd), and 1.9 blocks (5th) per game while shooting 59.9% (178-of-297) from the field and 44.7% (17-of-38) from behind the arc. Ware posted a program-high 14 double-doubles, eight 20-point, 10-rebound games, 18 multi-block outings, and shot 65.0% or better on at least eight made buckets in 11 games. Over the final seven games of the regular season, Ware averaged 20.7 points, 12.1 rebounds, and 3.0 blocks on 69.2% (63-of-91) shooting from the floor. One of the most improved players in the country, he averaged 6.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, and shot 45.7% from the floor as a freshman.
Reneau was named Honorable Mention All-Big Ten from both the coaches and the media. He finished the season with a career-best 15.7 points per game (14th in the Big Ten), 5.9 rebounds (19th), and 2.7 assists (t-22nd). He shot 57.0% (191-of-335) from the floor, 32.6% (14-of-43) from the 3-point line, and 66.9% (91-of-136) from the charity stripe.
Senior guard Trey Galloway was selected as the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree for Indiana. Galloway was one of three Hoosiers to start in all 31 games this season. The Culver Academies graduate averaged career highs in points (10.6), assists (4.6), steals (1.2), and minutes played (33.4) during his fourth season.
2023-24 All-Big Ten Men’s Basketball Team (Coaches)
FIRST TEAM
ZACH EDEY, PURDUE
BOO BUIE, NORTHWESTERN
Terrance Shannon Jr., Illinois
Braden Smith, Purdue
Marcus Domask, Illinois
SECOND TEAM
Tyson Walker, Michigan State
AJ Storr, Wisconsin
Jahmir Young, Maryland
Keisei Tominaga, Nebraska
Tony Perkins, Iowa
THIRD TEAM*
Payton Sandfort, Iowa
Ace Baldwin Jr., Penn State
Dawson Garcia, Minnesota
Kel’el Ware, Indiana
Rienk Mast, Nebraska
Brooks Barnhizer, Northwestern
HONORABLE MENTION
Coleman Hawkins, Illinois; Malik Reneau, Indiana; Owen Freeman, Iowa; Donta Scott, Maryland; Julian Reese, Maryland; Malik Hall, Michigan State; A.J. Hoggard, Michigan State; Elijah Hawkins, Minnesota; Jamison Battle, Ohio State; Bruce Thornton, Ohio State; Nick Kern Jr., Penn State; Qudus Wahab, Penn State; Mason Gillis, Purdue; Lance Jones, Purdue; Fletcher Loyer, Purdue; Clifford Omoruyi, Rutgers; Chucky Hepburn, Wisconsin; Tyler Wahl, Wisconsin
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Mackenzie Mgbako, Indiana
Owen Freeman, Iowa
Cam Christie, Minnesota
John Blackwell, Wisconsin
DeShawn Harris-Smith, Maryland
ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM*
Ace Baldwin Jr., Penn State
Clifford Omoruyi, Rutgers
Zach Edey, Purdue
Chucky Hepburn, Wisconsin
Kel’el Ware, Indiana
Brooks Barnhizer, Northwestern
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Zach Edey, Purdue
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR*
Ace Baldwin Jr., Penn State
SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR
Mason Gillis, Purdue
CO-COACH OF THE YEAR
Fred Hoiberg, Nebraska
Matt Painter, Purdue
CO-FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Mackenzie Mgbako, Indiana
Owen Freeman, Iowa
HOWARD MOORE ASSISTANT COACH OF THE YEAR
Brandon Brantley, Purdue
Unanimous selections in ALL CAPS
*Additional honorees due to ties
PURDUE MEN’S BASKETBALL
EDEY AND PAINTER GIVE PURDUE TWO OF THE TOP AP BIG TEN HONORS. ILLINI’S DOMASK NEWCOMER OF YEAR
Purdue’s Zach Edey repeated as Associated Press Big Ten player of the year Tuesday and Matt Painter of the Boilermakers is coach of the year for the second straight season.
Edey was the unanimous choice for top honors in balloting by 14 journalists who cover the conference. Illinois’ Marcus Domask is the newcomer of the year.
Painter, who shared coach of the year with Northwestern’s Chris Collins in 2023, edged out Nebraska’s Fred Hoiberg by one vote for this year’s coaching award.
The 7-foot-4, 300-pound Edey leads the Big Ten with 24.2 points and 11.7 rebounds per game and is shooting a conference-best 61.7% from the field. Since 1992-93, Edey is among three players nationally with two seasons of 700 points and 350 rebounds. He’s the only player in Big Ten history to accomplish that.
Northwestern’s Boo Buie joins Edey as unanimous picks to the AP All-Big Ten first team. Buie is averaging 18.9 points per game and has improved his 3-point percentage from 31.8% last year to 43.1% to rank second in the Big Ten.
Joining Edey and Buie on the first team are Purdue’s Braden Smith and Illinois’ Terrence Shannon Jr. and Domask.
Domask, a graduate transfer from Southern Illinois, started all 31 games and scored in double figures in 21 of his last 22 games, including all 10 Big Ten road games.
Painter led Purdue to 28 regular-season wins and 17 conference wins, both school records. The Boilermakers also have won two straight Big Ten regular-season titles and will go for back-to-back conference tournament championships this week in Minneapolis.
Hoiberg’s Cornhuskers, picked 12th in the Big Ten in the preseason, finished third for their highest conference finish since 1992-93. The Huskers’ 22 wins are tied for second on the school’s all-time list.
FIRST TEAM
u-Guard — Boo Buie, Northwestern, Gr., 6-2, 180, Albany, New York.
Guard — Braden Smith, Purdue, So., 6-0, 175, Westfield, Indiana.
Forward — Terrence Shannon Jr., Illinois, Sr., 6-6, 225, Chicago.
Forward – Marcus Domask, Illinois, Gr., 6-6, 215, Waupon, Wisconsin.
u-Center — Zach Edey, Purdue, Sr., 7-4, 300, Toronto.
—“u” denotes unanimous selection.
SECOND TEAM
Guard — Jahmir Young, Maryland, Sr., 6-1, 185, Upper Marlboro, Maryland.
Guard — Tyson Walker, Michigan State, Gr., 6-1, 185, Westbury, New York.
Forward — Dawson Garcia, Minnesota, Jr., 6-11, 230, Savage, Minnesota.
Foward — Coleman Hawkins, Illinois, Sr., 6-10, 230, Sacramento, California.
Center – Kel’el Ware, Indiana, So, 7-0, 242, North Little Rock, Arkansas.
INDIVIDUAL HONORS
Coach of the year — Matt Painter, Purdue.
u-Player of the year — Zach Edey, Purdue.
Newcomer of the year — Marcus Domask, Illinois.
PURDUE BASEBALL
HOMESTAND CONTINUES WITH FIRST $3 MIDWEEK MATCHUP
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Northern Illinois (5-11) at Purdue (12-4)
Wednesday, March 13 at 4 p.m. ET / Watch B1G+
Alexander Field / West Lafayette, Indiana
Midweek Deal: $3 GA Tickets, Hot Dogs, Popcorn, Nachos & Beers
Probable Starting Pitchers: Cole Van Assen (Fr, RHP) vs. TBA for NIU
SERIES HISTORY
All-Time: Purdue leads 7-1
All-Time in West Lafayette: Purdue leads 5-0
2023: Purdue 14, NIU 5 (March 15 Home Opener at Alexander Field)
First Meeting: Purdue 2, NIU 0 (March 1999 at Lambert Field)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue Baseball continues its season-long 13-game homestand and nine-game stretch against opponents with canine mascots as the Northern Illinois Huskies visit Alexander Field for midweek action for the third consecutive season.
First pitch is set for 4 p.m. as part of the $3 midweek matchup promotion. General admission tickets, hot dogs, popcorn, nachos and domestic canned beers are specially priced at $3 for all Tuesday and Wednesday games at Alexander.
The Boilermakers are looking to build upon their 12-4 start and first four-game sweep at home since April 2008 vs. Minnesota. Purdue racked up 45 runs in 29 innings against UAlbany and has now scored 10-plus runs in eight of its 12 wins this season.
The Boilermakers have scored a combined 31 runs in their victories against NIU the last two years. They had three big innings in last season’s home-opening win, scoring five in the fourth and seventh as well as four in the bottom of the second.
The 2022 Purdue-NIU game at Alexander Field was a midweek slugfest, featuring a combined 31 runs on 29 hits and eight errors on a rainy day in early April. It remains the highest-scoring game in the history of Alexander, a benchmark that was matched later that week in a 16-15 win vs. Indiana. There were 108 combined runs scored over five games from April 5-10, still easily the highest scoring week since Alexander opened in 2013.
Northern Illinois is under the guidance of first-year head coach Ryan Copeland, formerly the skipper at Division II Illinois-Springfield. He also coached at Alexander Field as the pitching coach at Illinois State, his alma mater, from 2014-15. The Huskies opened Mid-American Conference play with a series win at Ohio over the weekend.
For Purdue, freshman Cole Van Assen is set to make his first collegiate start, facing an opponent from his home state. Van Assen has worked 6 2/3 innings of effective relief over his first two appearances, allowing just one unearned run, which scored after he left the mound in his Feb. 18 collegiate debut. The righthander has surrendered only five hits (all singles) and two walks while inducing three ground ball double plays and eight ground balls outs total.
The Boilermakers are in the midst of a stretch in which they are scheduled to play 15 consecutive games in the state of Indiana. The Samford Bulldogs make their first-ever appearance at Alexander Field this weekend for a four-game series. The 13-game homestand is in line to match the longest of the program’s Alexander era (2013-present).
ACTIVE STREAKS
• Connor Caskenette – 21-game on-base streak at Home (since 3/31/23)
• Couper Cornblum – 17-game on-base at Home (since 4/15/23)
• Logan Sutter – 16-game on-base streak (every game of 2024)
• Camden Gasser – 14-game on-base streak (every game he’s played in 2024); 7-game hit streak
• Mike Bolton Jr. – 7-game hit streak
TOP 10 IN THE BIG TEN ENTERING THE WEEKEND
• Luke Gaffney – 1st in Batting Avg (.466), 1st in Slugging (.776), 1st in OPS (1.299), 1st in hits (27), T-1st in Triples (2), 2nd in RBI (21), 2nd in Runs (20), 3rd in Doubles (8), 3rd in OBP (.523)
• Logan Sutter – 1st in Doubles (11), 2nd in Slugging (.774), 2nd in OPS (1.282), T-5th in RBI (14), 7th in Batting Avg (.396), 7th in OBP (.508), T-10th in Hits (21)
• Jackson Dannelley – 1st in Saves (4)
• Couper Cornblum – T-1st in Triples (2)
• Camden Gasser – 2nd in OBP (.533), T-2nd in Steals (9), 5th in Batting Avg (.413), T-6th in Walks (13)
• Jordan Morales – T-2nd in Wins (3), 4th in Innings (23 1/3)
• Luke Wagner – T-2nd in Wins (3), 7th in ERA (2.70)
• Connor Caskenette – T-3rd in RBI (21),T-5th in HBP (7)
• Mike Bolton Jr. – T-6th in Steals (8)
• Jo Stevens – T-9th in Steals (4)
• Keenan Spence – T-10th in Runs (16)
PURDUE WOMEN’S GOLF
PURDUE SOARS UP LEADERBOARD, EARNS TOP 3 FINISH BEHIND KOZLOWSKI’S 67
JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. – Entering the final round of the Briar’s Creek Invitational in eighth, Purdue Women’s Golf used a 4-under 284 to soar up the leaderboard and place third in the 17-team event. The Boilermakers (+7) earned their fourth Top 3 finish of the season, beating a pair of Top 25 teams and six Big Ten teams at the Golf Club at Briar’s Creek.
Purdue’s 4-under final round was the second-best team total of the day behind NC State’s 281 (-7). The Wolfpack (+1) were runners-up, while Michigan State (-4) claimed the tournament title. The Boilermakers followed in third, finishing ahead of Illinois (+9), No. 17 UCF (+9) and No. 10 Florida (+11) to round out the top third of the leaderboard.
For the fourth time this season, Ashley Kozlowski led the Boilermakers in a tournament. The senior fired a final round 67 (-5) to move into red figures and finish 4-under (73-72-67—212) at the conclusion of the 54-hole event. Kozlowski jumped into the Top 5 of the individual leaderboard, securing her third Top 10 finish of the 2023-24 campaign. During her final round, she birdied three of the four par 5s on the course to go along with a trio of birdies on par 4s. Kozlowski’s six birdies were part of a bogey-free 17 holes before a lone blemish at the par-3 fourth, her final hole of the day.
Momo Sugiyama recorded her second straight under-par round, carding a 70 (-2) to tie for seventh at 1-over (74-71-70—215). The Australian birdied four of her first six holes to get off to a fast start before rattling off nine straight pars to remain 4-under through 15. A pair of bogeys down the stretch dropped Sugiyama to 2-under to end her day, which still remained her best round of the tournament.
Another major contribution to Purdue’s low final round was a 70 (-2) from Natasha Kiel. After struggling the first day of the tournament, the junior transfer bounced back by posting her best round as a Boilermaker. Kiel started the round with a birdie at the par-5 seventh, while adding another birdie at No. 11 to move to 2-under. A bogey on No. 13 was followed by seven straight pars until she recorded her third birdie of the day. The birdie at the third got Kiel back to 2-under for her round, and she parred the final three holes to complete her 70.
Up next, Purdue closes out a busy month. The Boilermakers return to The Bruzzy Challenge at Dornick Hills Country Club in Oklahoma (March 30-31) for the second straight season, competing in their third tournament during the month of March.
BOILERMAKERS
5. Ashley Kozlowski: 73-72-67—212 (-4)
T7. Momo Sugiyama: 74-71-70—215 (-1)
T39. Jade Gu: 70-71-82—223 (+7)
T67. Natasha Kiel: 79-80-70—229 (+13)
T86. Jocelyn Bruch: 77-79-77—233 (+17)
*T25. Jasmine Kahler: 72-71-77—220 (+4)
*Competing as an individual
TEAM LEADERBOARD
1. Michigan State: 284-282-294—860 (-4)
2. NC State: 291-293-281—865 (+1)
3. Purdue: 294-293-284—871 (+7)
T4. Illinois: 284-288-301—873 (+9)
T4. #17 UCF: 301-281-291—873 (+9)
6. #10 Florida: 290-293-292—875 (+11)
7. Miami (FL): 294-298-284—876 (+12)
8. Rutgers: 291-290-297—878 (+14)
9. College of Charleston: 305-293-289—887 (+23)
T10. Nebraska: 296-298-294—888 (+24)
T10. Maryland: 299-300-289—888 (+24)
12. Campbell: 285-306-299—890 (+26)
13. Boston College: 294-292-307—893 (+29)
14. Georgetown: 293-302-301—896 (+32)
15. Penn State: 305-296-297—898 (+34)
16. Wisconsin: 299-304-298—901 (+37)
17. Old Dominion: 297-309-315—921 (+57)
PURDUE SWIMMING
DIVERS DESCEND ON LOUISVILLE FOR NCAAS QUALIFIER
MEET INFORMATION
Purdue Men & Women at the Zone C Diving Championships
Wednesday, March 13 to Saturday, March 16
Ralph Wright Natatorium / Louisville, Kentucky
Free Live Stream at GoCards.com/watch
AUTOMATIC QUALIFYING SPOTS TO NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS FROM ZONE C
Top 12 in an event also qualify for NCAAs if he or she has already auto-qualified
1-Meter – Women: 7 // Men: 7
3-Meter – Women: 11 // Men: 10
Platform – Women: 9 // Men: 8
ZONE C SCHEDULE
Top 18 in prelims advance to finals
Thursday at 1 p.m. – Women’s 1-Meter, Men’s 3-Meter
Friday at 1 p.m. – Men’s 1-Meter, Women’s 3-Meter
Saturday at 11 a.m. – Women’s Platform followed by Men’s Platform
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Nine Purdue divers compete for berths at the NCAA Championships as the Zone C Diving Championships are contested in the Commonwealth of Kentucky for the third time in last five seasons, hosted by the University of Louisville this year.
Zone C is once again utilizing its traditional Thursday-Friday-Saturday schedule for the individual events, with springboard action set for 1 p.m. ET on Thursday and Friday. Saturday’s final day of the qualifier begins at 11 a.m. with the women’s platform competition.
New this season is Wednesday’s 7 p.m. exhibition team diving competitions. Purdue won both the men’s and women’s team diving events at the Big Ten Championships last month.
All-Americans Maycey Vieta, Sophie McAfee and Jordan Rzepka have all qualified for the NCAA Championships at Zones. Jaye Patrick did the same while competing for Northwestern in 2021 and 2023. Daryn Wright finished top four on both 3-meter and platform at NCAAs last year to qualify for NCAAs as a freshman.
Freshmen Holden Higbie and Max Miller make their debuts at Zones this week. Kaitlin Simons and Jenna Sonnenberg joins Higbie and Rzepka as the Boilermakers entered in all three individual events this week.
In 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021, every Boilermaker that completed at Zones qualified for NCAAs in at least one event. The 2020 Zone C Championships were shut down during the women’s 1-meter final as all sports nationwide came to a halt due to the coronavirus pandemic. The University of Kentucky hosted Zone C in both 2020 and 2021. Otherwise, the NCAAs qualifier for the region has been held at a Big Ten aquatic center every season since 2004.
PURDUE EVENT SCHEDULE AT ZONES – INDIVIDUAL
Career appearances at NCAAs in parenthesis
• Maycey Vieta (3): Platform
• Sophie McAfee (2): 3-Meter, Platform
• Jaye Patrick (2): 1-Meter, Platform, Team Diving
• Jordan Rzepka (2): 1-Meter, 3-Meter, Platform, Team Diving
• Jenna Sonnenberg (1): 1-Meter, 3-Meter, Platform, Team Diving
• Daryn Wright (1): 3-Meter, Platform
• Holden Higbie: 1-Meter, 3-Meter, Platform, Team Diving
• Max Miller: 1-Meter, 3-Meter, Team Diving
• Kaitlin Simons: 1-Meter, 3-Meter, Platform, Team Diving
As a fifth-year student-athlete, Vieta aims to close out her career as a four-year NCAA Championships qualifier. Like all the divers that excel on the tower, she never got an opportunity to compete at Zones in 2020. Now she has an opportunity to join an elite list of Boilermakers to be four-time NCAAs qualifier. That group currently includes Casey Matthews (2009-10, 2013-14), Joe Cifelli (2016-19), Brandon Loschiavo (2017-19, 2021), Greg Duncan (2019-22) and Maggie Merriman (2019, 2021-23). Ben Bramley (2019-22) and Emily Bretscher (2018-22) likely would have accomplished the feat as well if not for the shutdown in 2020.
ROAD TO NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS RUNS THROUGH ZONES
• Unlike their swimmer counterparts, the divers have to perform well this week to qualify for the NCAA Championships. No other scores or results from regular-season competition or the Big Ten Championships are considered.
• Securing at least one automatic-qualifying finish at Zones is the key. The top 12 overall in each event remains the other notable portion of the leaderboard. Once a diver has auto-qualified in one event, he or she only has to be among the top 12 in an additional event to also be eligible to compete in it at NCAAs.
• The allotted auto-qualifying spots in each event are determined by the number scoring finishes a Zone accounted for in that event at NCAAs the year prior.
• Unlike Big Tens and NCAAs, scores carry over from the preliminary to final at Zones. The top 18 qualify for the final.
McAfee and Rzepka were among a select group to qualify for NCAAs in all three diving events last season. McAfee was honorable mention All-America on both 3-meter and platform. Rzepka won the platform prelim and final at Zones last season. Vieta is a Big Ten champion (2023) and NCAA bronze medalist (2021) on the tower.
Along with the two victories in team diving, the Boilermakers also won three medals at the Big Ten Championships last month. Rzepka was top four in all three individual events, winning silver on platform and bronze on 3-meter. Wright (bronze), Vieta (4th) and Patrick (6th) gave Purdue three of the top six finishers in the women’s platform event. Wright joined Rzepka as a championship finalist in all three events. Rzepka and McAfee are both 9-for-9 in career top-10 finishes at Big Tens. As a sophomore, Wright is 6-for-6 in top 10s.
Georgia hosts the women’s NCAA Championships at the Gabrielsen Natatorium in Athens from March 20 to 23. IUPUI is hosting the men’s NCAA Championships at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis the following week – March 27 to 30.
PURDUE’S DAILY SCHEDULES
Wednesday
• Men’s Team Diving: Holden, Max, Jordan,
• Women’s 3-Meter: Jaye, Jenna, Kaitlin
Thursday
• Women’s 1-Meter: Jaye, Jenna, Kaitlin
• Men’s 3-Meter: Jordan, Max, Holden
Friday
• Men’s 1-Meter: Jordan, Max Holden
• Women’s 3-Meter: Daryn, Sophie, Jenna, Kaitlin
Saturday
• Women’s Platform: Daryn, Sophie, Maycey, Jaye, Jenna, Kaitlin
• Men’s Platform: Jordan, Holden
ZONES ACROSS THE USA
• There are five Zone Championships meets around the country. Princeton (Zone A), Georgia (Zone B), Houston (Zone D) and Northern Arizona (Zone E) are also hosting. Those Zones all conclude Wednesday.
• Zone C includes universities in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky. That means there will be a large Big Ten contingent in attendance in Bloomington this week. Zone C also features divers from Cincinnati, Kentucky, Louisville, Notre Dame as well as selected Horizon and Summit League, Mid-American and Missouri Valley Conference schools.
PURDUE MEN’S TENNIS
PURDUE FALLS IN FINAL SET AT UNLV
LAS VEGAS, NEV. – Purdue dropped a narrow 3-4 decision at UNLV on Tuesday evening.
The Boilermakers win streak was snapped despite a harrowing effort from the underclassmen. Purdue let the doubles point slip away with losses at No. 1 and 3. Stefan Simeunovic/Henrik Villanger led 4-3 before their match at No. 2 was abandoned.
Facing a one-point deficit, the bottom of the singles order provided a quick lift with Mujtaba Ali-Khan and Henrik Villanger securing a 2-1 lead for Purdue. Villanger diced up his opponent 6-3, 6-3 while Ali-Khan took a first-set lead off a harrowing 7-6(4) win. The victory in the first set propelled him to a dominant 6-1 win in the second to clinch the point and his sixth win at singles No. 6.
Daniel Labrador forced a third set after being downed 6-3 in the first, but a 4-1 deficit in the final push snuffed out his comeback and gave the lead back to the Rebels 2-3.
Reigning Big Ten Player of the Week, Soham Purohit, continued his winning streak at singles No. 2 with a three-set win over Dusan Rsovac. Purohit pulled a reverse sweep after falling 5-7 in the first set to win 6-3, 6-1 and claim the tying point. He has won five in a row and six of his last seven matches.
With the match on the line, Simeunovic forced a winner-take-all third set at No. 1. Unfortunately, he was on the wrong side of a 6-3 decision in the final set as UNLV clinched the dual.
Up Next
Purdue closes spring break with a road match at Boise State this Friday, March 15.
PURDUE (5-7) – 3, UNLV (6-6) – 4
SINGLES
1. Illia Maksymchuk (UNLV) def. Stefan Simeunovic (PUR) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
2. Soham Purohit (PUR) def. Dusan Rsovac (UNLV) 5-7, 6-3, 6-1
3. Aaron Bailey (UNLV) def. Daniel Labrador (PUR) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
4. Taiyo Hirano (UNLV) def. Juan David Velasquez (PUR) 6-3, 6-3
5. Henrik Villanger (PUR) def. Thomas Navarro (UNLV) 6-3, 6-3
6. Mujtaba Ali-Khan (PUR) def. Creed Skinner (UNLV) 7-6(4), 6-1
DOUBLES
1. Taiyo Hirano/Illia Maksymchuk (UNLV) def. Soham Purohit/Juan David Velasquez (PUR)- 6-3
2. Stefan Simeunovic/Henrik Villanger (PUR) vs. Jackson Atherton/Dusan Rsovac (UNLV)- 4-3 (Unfinished)
3. Aaron Bailey/Thomas Navarro (UNLV) def. Daniel Labrador/Mujtaba Ali-Khan (PUR)- 6-2
NOTRE DAME BASKETBALL
IRISH SWEEP ACC ROOKIES OF THE YEAR
For the first time since 2012, both the men’s and women’s ACC Rookie of the Year belong to the same school!
WASHINGTON D.C. – The Atlantic Coast Conference’s Rookie of the Year Award is coming to South Bend thanks to the undeniable play from Notre Dame guard Markus Burton. The South Bend area local, who wasn’t even on the ACC’s Preseason Rookie Watch List, captured the league’s attention by storm during the 2023-24 season, earning the program’s third-ever Rookie of the Year Award and first in the ACC.
ND alums Troy Murphy (1999) and Chris Thomas (2002) were previous Rookie of the Year winners in the Big East Conference.
Furthermore, Rookie of the Year wasn’t the only hardware Burton collected on Monday evening. He also earned Third Team All-ACC honors, and of course, the nod for All-Rookie Team.
“It’s really impressive with what (Burton) did and the stats he put up when he was No. 1 on the scouting report for every single ACC game. Burton ranked in the top-six in the league in points, assists and steals, of any class, and he got the opponent’s best defender marking him every single night,” Glenn & Stacey Murphy Notre Dame Head Coach Micah Shrewsberry said.
In league play, Markus Burton ranked in the top six amongst all classes in scoring, assists and steals, averaging 17.5 points (6th in ACC), 4.8 assists (3rd) and 2.2 steals (1st). Amongst ACC rookies, those numbers ranked first, second and first, respectively.
Burton is the only rookie in the entire country averaging at least 17.0 points, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals. Going deeper, Burton and Syracuse’s Judah Mintz are just 2-of-4 ACC players to produce that stat line since 1996 (Duke’s Jason Williams & Maryland’s Steve Francis). If Burton finishes with a 17-4-2 stat line, he’ll be the first player in program history to do so.
Burton boasts 535 points on the year which broke the Notre Dame freshman scoring record, surpassing the previous holder Troy Murphy’s 519 points (1998-99).
That’s good for a 17.3 points per game scoring average in overall games, which ranks third nationally amongst Division I freshmen. Burton recorded double-digit points in all but three games, which included nine of 20+ and a career-high of 31.
Defensively, Burton sits at 61 steals on the year, which is tied for the fifth most in a single season at Notre Dame, of any class. If he finishes with a 2.0 steals per game average, he would become just the fourth player in program history to do so (Chris Thomas, David Rivers, Jerian Grant).
Burton enters the ACC Tournament in arguably the best stretch of his rookie season. He is averaging the 2nd most points in the ACC since Feb. 24, aka over the last five games, with his 22.6 ppg in that timespan.
The Fighting Irish jumpstart ACC Tournament play on Tuesday, March 12, against Georgia Tech. That match tips off at 2 p.m. ET on the ACC Network.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Hannah Hidalgo is both the ACC Rookie of the Year and ACC Defensive Player of the year, the conference announced on Tuesday. She is just the third player in ACC history to take both ROTY and DPOY, joining Duke’s Elizabeth Williams (2012) and former Syracuse post Kamilla Cardoso (2021). Hidalgo is the only guard to ever win both awards. Additionally, the star freshman finished third in the voting for ACC Player of the Year and was the only rookie named to the All-ACC First Team.
The revelation that Hidalgo is the conference Rookie of the Year comes unsurprisingly, as the point guard from Haddonfield, N.J., won 12 of the 17 ACC Rookie of the Week honors this year. That mark is a conference record and was previously 10 set last year by Florida State’s Ta’Niya Latson.
Offensively, Notre Dame’s point guard is averaging 23.8 points per game, which leads the ACC. She is also tied for third with 5.4 assists per game and is a solid rebounding guard as well (6.5 per game). On Feb. 29 against Virginia Tech, Hidalgo scored her 660th point of the year and set a new single-season ACC freshman scoring record. Through 29 games, she now sits at 689 points on the year.
Hidalgo has become a defensive household name as well this year, as the freshman leads the nation with 4.9 steals per game. With 141 steals on the year, she has already broken the program single-season steals record and the ACC freshman steals record. She is on-pace to shatter the Notre Dame record for highest steal average, which was set in 1978-88 by Mary Gavin (3.3).
Hidalgo’s length of accolades is lengthy and is likely to continue to grow in the postseason. On Monday, she was named one of five finalists for the Nancy Lieberman Award, which is given to the nation’s best point guard. She is the only freshman on the list. Hidalgo also made the Wooden Award Late Season Top 20, the Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year Midseason Team and the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watchlist.
With the Rookie of the Year award, Hidalgo joins a long list of Notre Dame greats to take a conference’s freshman honors. Brianna Turner (2015), Sonia Citron (2022) each won the ACC award as a freshman, while Maddy Westbeld was voted the conference’s Rookie of the Year by the coaches. Alicia Ratay (2000), Jacqueline Batteast (2002) and Jewell Loyd (2013) earned the award while Notre Dame was a member of the Big East.
Brianna Turner is the sole Irish player to have won the ACC Defensive Player of the Year award, and she did it in 2016, 2017 and 2019. Devereaux Peters (2011 and 2012) and Ruth Riley (1999, 2000 and 2001) won it in the Big East. Hidalgo is the first Irish player to earn a spot on the ACC’s All Defensive Team since Turner did so in 2019.
IRISH ADVANCE WITH GUTSY 84-80 WIN OVER GEORGIA TECH
WASHINGTON D.C. – Not done yet! The Notre Dame men’s basketball team came to Washington D.C. to extend its season and flip the ACC Tournament script. The 12th-seeded Fighting Irish (12-19) made fans hold their collective breaths against the 13th-seeded Yellow Jackets (14-17), but ultimately came up clutch in crunch time with the 84-80 victory.
Down one with 1:16 remaining, the Irish turned to the ACC Rookie of the Year Markus Burton, who delivered the go-ahead and game-winning driving layup. Notre Dame’s defense also came up big in the final minute with two forced turnovers. Not to mention clutch free throws from Kebba Njie, Tae Davis and Braeden Shrewsberry.
The future was on display in the nation’s capital as Shrewsberry and Burton blew by the record for most points by a Notre Dame freshman in their ACC Tournament debut. First off, Shrewsberry scored a team-high 23 points, shooting 8-of-12 from the field, including 5-of-8 from three-point range. Four of Shrewsberry’s threes came in the second half. It marked his third game of 20+ this season.
Next, Burton followed right behind with 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting. The freshman guard also grabbed five boards and tied his season high in assists with eight. Burton has now produced five games of 20+ points over the last six games.
Kebba Njie tied his season high in points with 11 and nearly notched a double-double with nine rebounds. Furthermore, Tae Davis continued his hot end-of-season stretch with his sixth consecutive game in double figures. The sophomore earned 12 points, three rebounds and three assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Notre Dame kicked off ACC Tournament play by starting 7-of-11 from the field. The hot start resulted in a 13-1 scoring run as the Irish jumped out to a 17-5 lead. Next, Georgia Tech secured back-to-back three-point plays to narrow the gap until Matt Zona subbed in and punched back with back-to-back buckets under the rim.
By 10:33 in the first half, Burton was into double figures with his third trey of the game – already tying his season high. Moments later, Julian Roper II hit a three of his own to keep the Irish out front at 32-1, as ND started 6-of-10 from beyond the arc.
The Irish maintained their hot hand for the remainder of the half as they shot their second-highest first-half shooting percentage of the season at 62.1 percent (18-29 FG). As a result, they earned their highest first-half points total of the year, rolling into halftime up 45-35.
Burton led the way at the midway point with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting (3-of-5 from deep). Braeden Shrewsberry and Tae Davis followed suit with nine and eight points, respectively. The Irish out-rebounded the Yellow Jackets 15-11 in the opening half and only turned the ball over four times.
Shrewsberry connected on two from deep within the first 2.5 minutes of the second half to maintain a double-digit lead at the first media, up 55-43.
Up 11 with 14:18 remaining, the Irish got some magic from both Booth and Zona. First Booth drained a three, then 45 seconds later he threw down a monster dunk that hyped the ND bench. Next trip down the floor, Zona drained the team’s 10th three of the match, forcing Georgia Tech to call a timeout up 65-48. The 17-point advantage was Notre Dame’s largest lead of the game.
Unfortunately, Georgia Tech immediately rallied on the other side of the timeout, applying a full-court press. That 17-point Notre Dame lead was cut all the way down to two points with 7:51 on the clock. The Irish needed a basket badly and they got it seconds later with a corner three from Shrewsberry at the 7:13 media now up 74-69.
With 6:36 left, up just three, Shrewsberry answered again with his fifth trey of the game. Yet, Georgia Tech kept hitting shots, connecting on three in a row to claim their first lead of the match, 77-78.
Fast forward to 1:16 on the clock and the Irish were still down one. A big defensive board led to the fastbreak where Shrewsberry dished to Burton for the go-ahead layup. Now 81-80 with 1:09 remaining. Seconds later, the Irish defense forced a huge turnover, now just under a minute left.
Next offensive possession, the Irish killed some clock before Burton’s shot. The ball hit the rim but Davis got the huge offensive board and then got fouled. He then connected on two from the free throw line but the second didn’t count due to a foul.
Georgia Tech then had a chance for the tie or lead but the Irish defense delivered again with another forced turnover. Shrewsberry then went to the line and hit both free throws to push the Irish lead to four and ice it at 84-80.
UP NEXT
The Irish return to the court for Second Round action against 5th-seeded Wake Forest on Wednesday, March 13, at 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
NOTRE DAME MEN’S GOLF
NOTRE DAME MEN’S GOLF WINS THE JOHNNIE-O AT SEA ISLAND
St. Simons Island, Ga. – The Notre Dame Fighting Irish were crowned tournament champions at the Johnnie-O at Sea Island event hosted at the Sea Island Plantation Golf Course March 11-12. The Irish secured their first place finish with a score of 832, shooting 32 under, 10 strokes better than the next competing team, No. 8 Texas.
Notre Dame was led by the tournament winner, freshman Jacob Modleski, who tied for first place.
“The first win is always special and knowing Jacob, he’s already preparing for his second,” said Head Coach and Director of Golf John Handrigan.
Palmer Jackson finished third right behind Modleski as it was neck and neck through the last few holes.
Modleski shot 12 under with a score of 204, shooting an even 72 in round one, a 67 (-5) and an impressive 65 (-7) in round three. The freshman recorded five birdies and two eagles in the final round with 14 birdies total in the event.
“Jacob and Palmer played awesome and had a great event,” said Handrigan. “They made each other better today and it’s a perfect example of positive competition to get the best play from one another. That is the Notre Dame Golf way.”
Chris Bagnall competed as an individual for this event, but was also able to claim a top-10 finish as he shot a 209 (-7) to finish T6. Bagnall shot a 70 (-2), 68 (-4), and a 71 (-1).
Nate Stevens recorded a top-10 finish to help the team secure this first place victory as Stevens finished T8. He shot six under with a score of 210 as he was playing his best golf in rounds two and three, recording a 68 (-4) in both.
“I was quoted last week that our performance did not meet the Notre Dame Golf standard – and it didn’t – but we sure changed that this week and competed at our elite level,” said Handrigan.
“It was a very impressive win in a strong field. Great teams never let up and we didn’t today. We had a solid 6 shot lead going into the final round and we kept the pedal down to extend our lead today to win by 10. That’s the Notre Dame Golf standard. Our daily process in the classroom, at workouts and especially at practice has been exceptional. I’m proud of our team – winning in college golf is hard, but they earned this win with great process and preparation.”
Notre Dame is back in action this weekend as they head to Forest Heights Golf Club in Statesboro, GA to compete in the Schenkel Invitational.
“A quick turnaround as we compete again starting Friday, but we are going to enjoy and celebrate this victory.”
NOTRE DAME BASEBALL
IRISH EARN TENTH WIN WITH 10-3 VICTORY AT RADFORD
RADFORD, Va. – Notre Dame (10-5) earned its tenth win Tuesday with a 10-3 victory at Radford (5-9). OF Tito Flores led the Irish with three hits, while five Irish batters in total posted multi-hit games (IF Connor Hincks, Flores, INF Simon Baumgardt, INF Estevan Moreno and OF T.J. Williams).
Irish pitchers made a statement on the mound, not allowing a walk until the eighth inning, and only allowing one for the whole game. RHP Jack Radel (2-0) earned the win in his first-career start, going three full innings with four strikeouts and one hit allowed, while RHP Ricky Reeth and RHP Caden Spivey each went three full innings, Reeth adding one strikeout and Spivey posting three.
Notre Dame retired 13 batters in a row, beginning with the fourth batter in the first inning and extending to the last batter in the fifth.
Hincks continued his multi-hit streak to three games, Tuesday notching two extra-base hits (double and triple).
C Tony Lindwedel posted his first RBI and hit of the season. OF Nathan Manning saw his first game action in an Irish uniform, while INF Drayk Bowen noted his first-career at-bat.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams went scoreless in the first, as Radel posted a strikeout. Flores led off the second inning with a single, and Baumgardt forced a Radford error to keep both safe on base. OF Brady Gumpf hit into a fielder’s choice but earned an RBI, as Baumgardt was tagged out and Flores got home to put the Irish on the board. After a Moreno single and an out, Notre Dame added another run on a Williams single, scoring Gumpf. Radel added two strikeouts in the bottom of the second to preserve the 2-0 lead.
Both sides went three up, three down in the third. Baumgardt led off the fourth with a double, reaching third on a Gumpf flyout. Moreno sent a sac fly to score Baumgardt before the Irish were sent to the field up 3-0. Reeth entered to pitch for the Irish, and two groundouts and a flyout kept Radford off the board.
The fifth saw both teams go scoreless. Hincks led off the sixth with a triple, scoring on a Flores RBI single and sending the Irish to the bottom of the inning up 4-0. Radford responded in the sixth with a double and a single, scoring a run on a sac fly to get on the board.
Notre Dame broke it open in the seventh. Moreno led off with a single and stole second. Lindwedel singled for his first hit and RBI of the season as Moreno sped home. Williams singled, pushing Lindwedel to second. Penney hit into a fielder’s choice which tagged Williams out, as Lindwedel reached third. Penney stole second, and on a wild pitch, Penney took third and Lindwedel scored. After a strikeout, Hincks doubled, his second extra-base hit of the game, to score Penney. Flores added a single, pushing Hincks to third, and reached second. A Baumgardt double scored both runners. Gumpf, Notre Dame’s ninth batter of the inning, put a single in left field to score Baumgardt. The Irish went to the bottom of the inning with six runs scored in the seventh, up 10-1.
Spivey entered to pitch the seventh and struck out all three batters. Notre Dame went down in order in the eighth, and Radford had success in the bottom of the inning. A leadoff HBP and walk put two runners on base, and both scored on the following double. Spivey added another strikeout before the inning ended at 10-3.
Bowen, INF Josh Hahn and Flores went up for the Irish in the ninth and were retired in order. Radford led off its half with a double, but the Irish produced outs on the three following batters to end the game with Notre Dame’s 10th win of the season.
UP NEXT
Notre Dame and Radford will return to Sherman Carter Memorial Stadium Wednesday at 4 p.m. for the second of two games. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
NOTRE DAME SOFTBALL
IRISH SWEEP BOWLING GREEN IN HOME OPENING DOUBLEHEADER
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame softball team began its home schedule with a doubleheader sweep of the visiting Bowling Green Falcons Tuesday afternoon at Melissa Cook Stadium. After a dominating pitching performance in game one gave the Fighting Irish a 4-0 victory, Notre Dame battled back, scoring runs in the seventh and eighth innings to earn a 10-9 extra-inning victory to complete the sweep to improve to 14-9 on the year.
Game one saw graduate transfer Alexis Laudenslager start in the circle. Laudenslager earned her fifth win of the season, allowing just one hit and striking out a season-best 10 hitters. The San Diego-native kept the Falcons out of the hit column until the top of the seventh inning when she allowed her only hit, a single with one out.
The Irish offense had seven hits in the first game, led by a perfect 3-for-3 effort from senior leadoff hitter Carlli Kloss. Kloss drove in two runs, scored once, stole two bases, doubled and drew a walk. Emily Tran added a 2-for-4 effort with an RBI. Karina Gaskins finished 1-for-4 with a double. Mickey Winchell added the seventh hit, a single in a 1-for-3 effort.
Kami Kamzik made her second collegiate start in the nightcap. The freshman threw an inning, allowing three hits, two unearned runs and struck out four. Shannon Becker took over, logging 2.2 innings with a season-best six strikeouts, but allowed five runs, three earned on three hits and walked four. Micaela Kastor settled things down, throwing the final 4.1 innings, scattering three hits, allowing two unearned runs and striking out four to earn her sixth win of the year.
Rachel Allen led the Irish offense, finishing 3-for-5 with two RBI, including a game-tying home run in the bottom of the seventh and driving in the game-winning run in the eighth. Kloss finished 2-for-4 with two RBI and scored a run to go with one stolen base. Gaskins added a 2-for-5 effort with three RBI. Addison Amaral was 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Other multi-hit performances included Cassidy Grimm’s 2-for-5 day with two RBI and two runs scored. Jane Kronenberger added a 2-for-3 game, scoring two runs and drawing two walks.
How It Happened – Game 1
The Irish scored the first run of the day in the bottom of the first frame. Kloss drew a walk and stole second. Tran drove a ground ball back up the middle to score Kloss from second as Notre Dame took the 1-0 lead.
Notre Dame scored two unearned runs in the second inning. Kronenberger was hit by a pitch and moved to second on a wild pitch. Allen followed with a ground ball that skipped through the legs of the Falcon second baseman, and the throw to get Kronenberger at home was wild, allowing Allen to take second. Kloss followed with a single up the middle to score a run and put the Irish up 3-0.
Kloss added to the Irish lead in the sixth. Kronenberger was hit by a pitch and moved up on a deep fly ball to left. Kloss brought her in with a double that bounced over the third baseman to bring in the run.
Laudenslager surrendered her first hit of the day in the top of the seventh inning as she earned her first complete game shutout of the season.
How It Happened – Game 2
The Falcons got the scoring started in the first inning, plating a pair of unearned runs. With two outs, a single and a passed ball on a strikeout put two on. A walk loaded the bases as a single drove in two early.
Gaskins cut the lead in half in the bottom of the first. Kloss led off with a single to center and moved up on a sacrifice bunt from Tran put her in scoring position. A stolen base moved her up as Gaskins put the ball on the ground to the right side, scoring one and cutting the lead to 2-1, in favor of Bowling Green.
Notre Dame got the lead back in the bottom of the second inning, scoring two runs. Kronenberger and Allen hit back-to-back singles to put two on. A walk loaded the bases for Kloss who singled to center to bring a run in. Tran added a run with a ground ball to take the 3-2 lead.
The Irish exploded for five runs in the bottom of the third. Amaral led off with a single and an error on Winchell’s sacrifice bunt put two on. A wild pitch moved the runners up for Grimm who delivered with a single. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases for Kloss who made her first out of the day, but drove in a run with the sacrifice fly to left. A walk loaded the bases again for Gaskins who drove a single the other way to score two and extend the lead to 8-2.
Bowling Green rallied in the fourth inning, scoring seven times to take a 9-8 lead into the bottom of the seventh.
Allen led off the frame with a bang, hitting her first homer of the season to tie it up. The Irish continued the rally, getting the run 60 feet from home in the seventh, but couldn’t bring it home, sending the game into extra innings. Notre Dame kept the pressure on as Grimm knocked a one-out single through the right side in the eighth. Kronenberger drew a walk to set the stage for Allen. The junior delivered with a single off the wall in center field, scoring Grimm as the Irish earned the 10-9 victory.
Up Next
The Irish return to Atlantic Coast Conference action this weekend as they’ll head to Atlanta, Georgia for a three-game set with the Georgia Tech Yellowjackets beginning Friday evening at 8 p.m.
BUTLER SOFTBALL
BUTLER SOFTBALL HEADS TO BELLARMINE FOR PAIR OF GAMES
Game Information – vs. Dartmouth / at Bellarmine
DATE: Wednesday, March 13
LOCATION: Louisville, Ky. / Knights Field
LIVE STATS: athletics.bellarmine.edu
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+ (vs. Bellarmine)
Full Notes
The Butler softball team heads to Bellarmine on Wednesday to face Dartmouth along with the host Knights. The Bulldogs (12-11, 2-1 BIG EAST) are coming off a 2-1 conference series with Providence. Over the past weekend, Bellarmine (8-12, 0-0 ASUN) went 1-2 vs. Evansville and defeated St. Bonaventure. The Big Green (0-4, 0-0 Ivy League) have just recently begun their season.
Bulldog Bits
(as of 3-11-24)
Ella White is second in the BIG EAST (41st nationally) with 8 doubles. She is also second (81st) with a .431 batting average, second (64th) with a .785 slugging %, and third with five home runs.
Monique Hoosen is second in the BIG EAST (59th nationally) with six home runs.
Kieli Ryan leads the BIG EAST (12th nationally) with 7 base runners caught stealing.
Katie Petran is second in the BIG EAST (50th nationally) with 7 wins in the circle and is fifth with 50 strikeouts.
Cate Lehner is fifth in the BIG EAST with seven stolen bases.
vs. Providence (Mar. 11-12)
Butler won the series, taking games one and two.
Sydney Cammon’s victory in game one was her fifth win of the season and her ninth at Butler.
Monique Hoosen’s home run in game two was her sixth of the season and the 33rd of her career.
Sydney Carter’s double in game two was her second of the season and ninth of her career.
Teagan O’Rilley’s double in game two was her sixth of the season and 13th of her career.
Katie Petran earned her seventh win in her seventh complete game of the season in game two. She also picked up her second save of the season in game one.
Hot bats for the Bulldogs in the series were Ella White 4-for-6 (.666), Sydney Carter 4-for-8 (.500), and Hailey Conger 5-for-11 (.455).
SCOUTING DARTMOUTH (0-4, 0-0 Ivy League)
The Big Green have losses to No. 3 Georgia and No. 21 Virginia Tech, and two losses to Radford.
Batting leaders:
#8 Ashley Frantz (.444) 4H
#7 Kelly Beaupre (.417) 5H, 2RBI
#13 Olivia Schramm (.364) 4H, 2RBI
Pitching leaders:
#5 Jensin Hall (0-2) 5.50 ERA, 19K
#23 Rachel McCarroll 7.00 ERA, 9K
SCOUTING BELLARMINE (8-12, 0-0 ASUN)
Wins this season include: Butler, Sienna, Cornell, Western Illinois, and Evansville.
Losses include: Brown, Green Bay, Lindenwood, Kentucky, and Evansville.
Batting leaders:
#44 Chloe Collins (.333) 20H, 4-2B, 3HR, 11RBI
#0 Brooke Shewmaker (.283) 15H, 3B, 6RBI, 6SB
#21 Serenity Shemwell (.283) 13H, 2HR, 11RBI
Pitching leaders:
#4 Claire Lehmkuhler (6-5) 1.98 ERA, 49K
#37 Carson Goatley (0-3) 3.78 ERA, 18K
#24 Selena Zuniga (2-3) 4.28 ERA, 12K
BUTLER MEN’S GOLF
BULLDOGS CAP SURF CLUB INVITATIONAL WITH FOURTH-PLACE FINISH
The Bulldogs held their position throughout Tuesday’s final round, finishing in fourth place at The Surf Club Invitational.
The event, hosted by App State, featured a total of 54 holes over the course of Monday and Tuesday.
Butler’s six-under 278 Tuesday was the team’s best round of the event, following scores of 280 and 286 Monday. The Bulldogs finished the event at eight-under 844.
Damon Dickey had five birdies against no bogeys Tuesday on the 6,996-yard Surf Golf and Beach Club course in Myrtle Beach, S.C., on his way to a 66. Daniel Tanaka also found his way into red numbers with a Tuesday 68.
Dickey finished the event in a tie for sixth at five-under 208.
Butler’s BIG EAST rival Connecticut took the team title at 825 (-27). There are a total of 18 teams in the field.
THE BULLDOGS:
T6) Damon Dickey, 72-70-66—208 (-5)
T32) Derek Tabor, 68-75-71—214 (+1)
T32) Daniel Tanaka, 75-71-68—214 (+1)
T35) Will Horne, 68-74-73—215 (+2)
T40) Henry Quinn, 72-71-73—216 (+3)
T69) Leo Zurovac (playing as an individual), 80-68-74—222 (+9)
The Bulldogs are off for a few weeks before hosting the Don Benbow Butler Spring Invitational at the team’s home course – Highland Golf Club – April 1-2.
BUTLER WOMEN’S GOLF
BUTLER WOMEN’S GOLF CLIMBS INTO SIXTH TO FINISH BENBOW SPRING INVITATIONAL
The Bulldogs climbed two positions on the leaderboard in the final round of the Don Benbow Spring Invitational, which Butler hosted in Florida.
Butler moved from eighth into sixth place Tuesday.
Kelli Scheck also made a Tuesday move as her three-over 75 moved her into a tie for 11th at 155 (+11). She started the day in 30th. She was the top finisher for the Bulldogs, who also saw Cybil Stillson and Katie Steinman post Top 20 performances.
Scheck’s Tuesday scorecard included four birdies on the par-72, 6,297-yard Ardea Country Club south course in Oldsmar, Fla.
Quinnipiac’s Leeyen Peralta took individual medalist honors at two-over 146. Western Michigan won the event with a total of (+32). There were a total of 16 teams in the field.
THE BULLDOGS:
T11) Kelli Scheck, 80-75–155 (+11)
T14) Cybil Stillson, 79-77–156 (+12)
T20) Katie Steinman, 79-79–158 (+14)
T41) Ashley Freitas, 83-80–163 (+19)
T55) Madalin Small, 83-82–165 (+21)
T60) Sophie McGinnis (playing as an individual), 80-87–167 (+23)
The tournament is named in honor of the late Don Benbow, who was inducted into the Butler Athletics Hall of Fame for his contributions as a standout football student-athlete, golf and football coach, and his time at Butler as an athletics administrator.
The Bulldogs return to action next week with the Western Kentucky Invitational, which will also be hosted in the Tampa area.
BUTLER SOFTBALL
BUTLER SOFTBALL DROPS THIRD GAME OF SERIES WITH PROVIDENCE
INDIANAPOLIS – The Butler softball team lost to Providence on Tuesday but finished the opening BIG EAST series for both teams with a 2-1 advantage in the win column. The final game was tied 4-4 after four innings, but a big fifth inning by the Friars (7-9, 1-2 BIG EAST) provided a five-run advantage. The Bulldogs (12-11, 2-1 BIG EAST) managed three runs in the bottom of the seventh but were unable to extend or win the game.
Game 3: Providence 9, Butler 7 (7 innings)
Providence scored four runs in the top of the second inning, but Butler pushed back in the bottom half. Hailey Conger and Ella White each hit a bases-loaded single to bring the Dawgs to within two, at 4-2.
In the bottom of the third, Butler tied the game at four. With the bases loaded, a wild pitch and a throwing error allowed two runs to cross the plate on the same play.
In the fifth, the Friars scored five runs on three hits and an error. The 9-4 lead held through six complete.
In the bottom of the seventh, Butler loaded the bases with one out. A wild pitch allowed White to score from third. Then, Kieli Ryan put the ball in play, allowing Leigh Vande Hei to cross the plate, but a second out was recorded. Sydney Carter then singled in Kaylee Gross, but that was then end of the threat.
Rylyn Dyer started in the circle for Butler and pitched into the second inning. Sydney Cammon (5-7) entered with two outs in the top of the second and the Bulldogs down, 3-0. She took the loss, allowing five runs (four earned) on five hits and a walk in 2.2 innings. Dyer (2.2 IP, 4R, 4H, 2BB, K) returned with one out in the top of the fifth. Kayla Noerr (1.2 IP, K) came in with one out in the sixth and finished the game.
Bulldog Bits
Sydney Carter had three hits in a single game for the second time this season.
Cate Lehner’s stolen base was her team-leading eighth of the season and the 25th of her career.
Up Next
Butler travels to Bellarmine on Wednesday, March 13, for a pair of games, one against the Knights and the other vs. Dartmouth.
BUTLER WOMEN’S LAX
BUTLER WLACROSSE FACES 16-8 LOSS TO CALIFORNIA
The Butler women’s lacrosse team faced a 16-8 loss to California today in Berkley, Calif. The Bulldogs now sit at 1-6 for the 2024 season, while California improves to 3-5.
The Bulldogs put up a neck and neck performance against the Golden Bears in the first half of the match. Within the start of the third quarter only one Butler goal was allowed by Patricia Lynn, assisted by Leah Rubino, but from then on, the Golden Bears scored five goals putting themselves at 11-5 going into the fourth quarter. Luci Selander, Ava Clemson, and Elise Latham each netted a goal in the fourth quarter, but unfortunately the Golden Bear’s put up six more goals for the win.
Notable Stats:
Sophomore attack Luci Selander has led the Bulldogs in scoring over the last three games; she recorded two goals on seven shots, one assist, and four draw controls in today’s match.
The Bulldog’s leader in assists, Delaney Hudson recorded three assists and one goal.
Freshman midfielder Ava Clemson scored for her first collegiate goal with the Bulldogs.
Sophomore defender Caroline Ross recorded two ground balls.
Goalie Caroline Smith accounted for 10 saves and two ground balls.
The Bulldogs will round out Spring Break in Ypsilanti, Mich. where they will take on Eastern Michigan. The first draw is set for 12 p.m.
BUTLER MEN’S BASKETBALL
BULLDOGS OPEN 2024 BIG EAST TOURNAMENT WEDNESDAY WITH XAVIER
The Tip-Off
• Butler, the No. 8 seed, opens the 2024 BIG EAST Tournament Wednesday with a first round match-up with No. 9 seed Xavier.
• Both Butler and Xavier joined the conference prior to the 2013-14 season; this marks the fifth time that the two teams will meet in the BIG EAST Tournament.
• Butler is 3-9 all-time in the BIG EAST Tournament, with two of those victories coming against Xavier.
• Butler and Xavier split the two 2023-24 regular season match-ups with each winning on their home court.
Butler (18-13, No. 8 Seed) vs. Xavier (15-16, No. 9 Seed)
2024 BIG EAST Tournament First Round
Wednesday, March 13; 4PM
Madison Square Garden; New York City
TV: FS1 – Tim Brando & Bill Raftery
Radio: WXNT 1430AM, Varsity Network Radio App, SiriusXM 138 or 201, SXM App 964 – @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)
The Series with the Musketeers
• Butler has been part of BIG EAST Tournaments since 2014; the Bulldogs have faced Xavier in four of those prior tournaments.
• Butler captured wins over Xavier in both 2021 and 2022 (both in the first round and both in overtime); Xavier won match-ups in the quarterfinals of the 2015 and 2017 tournaments.
• The first meeting between Butler and Xavier came in 1937.
• The two programs have been rivals in three different conferences: the Midwestern Collegiate Conference, the Atlantic 10 for a single season in 2012-13, and in the BIG EAST since the 2013-14 campaign when both programs, along with Creighton, joined the league.
Series: Xavier Leads, 47-27
Streak: Butler, W1
Neutral Court: Xavier Leads, 4-3
First Meeting: XU, 28-26; 1/16/1937 (at XU)
Last Meeting: BU, 72-66; 3/6/24 (at BU)
Connection Points
• Thad Matta served as the head coach at Xavier for three seasons (2001-04) following his initial season as the head coach at Butler. Sean Miller was on his Xavier staff and took over the program when Matta left for Ohio State in 2004.
• Matta and Miller were both assistants on the coaching staff at Miami (Ohio) for the 1996-97 season.
• Both Matta and Miller are in their second head coaching stint at their respective school.
Second Time Around
• Butler came away with a 72-66 win over Xavier March 6 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in the Bulldogs’ final game of the regular season.
• Butler’s 17-0 run gave the Bulldogs a 20-4 advantage with 14:52 remaining in the first half. At that point in the contest, Butler had hit eight of 10 attempts from the field.
• Butler never relinquished the lead after that initial run, but had to endure a scoreless drought that began with 4:46 remaining in the first half and didn’t end until the 13:29 mark of the second half.
• Four Bulldogs found double figures, led by Jahmyl Telfort at 18 points. Alexander (16), Pierre Brooks II (14) and DJ Davis (11) joined him. Alexander added six assists, four assists and four steals.
• Butler shot only 41 percent for the game, but committed only nine turnovers.
• Xavier’s top three scorers – Desmond Claude, Quincy Olivari and Dayvion McKnight – were held to combined 16-for-43 shooting and a total of two three-pointers.
• Xavier shot 37 percent from the field and had only five assists, while committing 15 turnovers.
• The teams combined to make 24 of 25 free throw attempts.
First Time Around
• In a game that featured huge swings of momentum and scoring runs back and forth, Xavier was able to post an 85-71 win over Butler Jan. 16 at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati.
• The Musketeers held their largest lead of the game at 46-27 in the closing minutes of the first half and an eventual 46-32 halftime advantage.
• The Bulldogs would fight all the way back. A 20-3 Butler run capped by 11 straight points from Posh Alexander (nine on three-pointers) gave the Bulldogs a 60-58 lead with 11:01 remaining in the game.
• Xavier would respond with the next 13 points to take control of the game at 71-60.
• Desmond Claude (26) and Dayvion McKnight (20) paced the Musketeers, who also got 15 points from Quincy Olivari.
• Pierre Brooks II led Butler with 22 points, while Alexander added 21.
Of Note
• Butler’s 15 NCAA NET ranking Quad 1 games this season are tied for third nationally (Baylor and Houston are the nation’s leaders at 17 and 16, respectively; through the games of Sunday, March 10).
• Butler’s NCAA NET strength of schedule is No. 11 nationally, while KenPom ranks the Bulldogs’ schedule as the nation’s 13th-toughest slate (through the games of Sunday, March 10).
• Butler has committed a total of only 15 turnovers over the last two games. The Bulldogs have 16 games this season with 10 or fewer turnovers; the Bulldogs are also 13-5 this season when committing fewer turnovers than their opponent.
• Butler made 12 of its 13 attempts from the free throw line in the regular season finale against Xavier. On the season, Butler ranks seventh nationally in free throw shooting at 79.2 percent. Butler has shot 70 percent or better from the line in all but one game.
• DJ Davis ranks No. 1 nationally in free throw percentage at 96.8 percent; he has made 57 of 58 free throw attempts in BIG EAST play.
• Butler had a season-high eight blocks in the regular season finale win over Xavier. Jalen Thomas matched his season-high with three blocks, while Posh Alexander had his first two blocks of the season, which also matched his career-high.
• Butler’s defense has back-to-back games of forcing an individual opponent into six turnovers: Xavier’s Desmond Claude and DePaul’s Chico Carter Jr.
• Butler’s defense limited Xavier to only five assists in the regular season finale, a season-low for a Butler opponent.
• Butler handed out 24 assists (one shy of the team’s season-high) in the March 2 road win at DePaul. Alexander handed out nine of those, matching his second-highest total of the season.
• Butler shot 50 percent from the field against the Blue Demons March 2. The Bulldogs are 9-1 when shooting 50 percent or better from the field and a perfect 16-0 when shooting a better percentage than their opponent.
• With four steals against Xavier, Alexander now has 67 steals this season, which is tied for fourth on Butler’s single-season list. Alexander leads the BIG EAST and is 21st nationally at 2.23 steals per game.
• Finley Bizjack was selected to the 2023-24 BIG EAST All-Freshman Team.
• Butler’s typical starting five has each led the team in both scoring and rebounding in the same game at least once this season (Davis, Thomas and Jahmyl Telfort have each done it twice).
• Butler’s offense put up 82 points at DePaul March 2. Butler has 13 games this season scoring 80 points or more (including seven games of 90 or more).
• The Bulldogs commit just 13.8 fouls per game, which ranks 12th nationally.
• Alexander is sixth in the conference and 55th nationally at 4.9 assists per game.
• Thomas ranks seventh in the BIG EAST in blocks (1.19 per game) and 15th in rebounding (6.1 per game).
• Telfort is fourth in the BIG EAST in minutes per game (34:48).
Home, Sweet Hinkle
• Butler is 12-5 at Hinkle Fieldhouse so far this season.
• Thad Matta is 35-12 at Hinkle Fieldhouse as the head coach at Butler (2000-01 and his current stint that began prior to the 2022-23 season).
• Butler has scored at least 80 points in eight of its home games this season (going over the 90-point mark five times).
• Butler is 77-2 over its last 79 non-conference home games, winning 15 straight.
Balancing Act
• Four different Bulldogs (Brooks, Alexander, Davis, Telfort) have multiple 20-point scoring performances this season.
• Butler has had multiple players post 20 or more in the same game four times this season.
• Ten different Bulldogs have scored in double figures in at least one game so far this season.
• Butler’s balanced attack has seen at least five players score in double figures in the same game seven times this season, including most recently in the Jan. 23 win at Georgetown.
IUPUI WOMEN’S TENNIS
WOMEN’S TENNIS SWEEPS TUESDAY MATCHES
ORLANDO, Fla. – The IUPUI women’s tennis team swept their Tuesday tennis matches with wins over Providence and Salve Regina. Emma Dell and Elle Kotre took the number one singles matches.
The Jags started the day off with a win over Providence, 4-3. IUPUI still playing with just five players fell in doubles play, falling behind 1-0. Chloe Bailey and Elle Kotre dropped the number one doubles match, 6-4.
After falling behind 1-0, the Jags fought in singles play to secure the win earning four of the six matches. Gabbie Orlando took the number four singles win in two sets, 6-4, 6-3 while Bailey secured the number three singles win in two sets, 6-0, 6-4. Kotre took the number two singles match, 6-0, 6-2.
After Providence tied the match at 3-3 with a number five singles win over Sofia Castillo, 6-1, 6-1 and a forfeited number six singles win, Dell secured the match win in the number one spot. Dell fell behind early, losing the first set 0-6 but fought back to seal the win for the Jags in three sets, 0-6, 7-6, 6-4.
After earning the first match win, the Jags then defeated Salve Regina in the second match of the day 5-2.
IUPUI started the match off earning the doubles point. Kotre and Bailey took the number one doubles match, 6-1 while Orlando and Castillo won the number two doubles match, 6-1.
In singles play, the Jags took four of the six matches. Kotre took the number one singles match, 6-1, 6-1. Dell earned the number two singles point, 6-1, 6-1 while Bailey earned the number three singles point, 6-0, 6-0. Orlando earned the fifth point for IUPUI in the number four singles match, 6-0, 6-0. Castillo fell in the number five singles match, 6-4, 6-2.
The Jaguars will next play Bethune-Cookman on Thursday, March 14.
IUPUI WOMEN’S GOLF
JAGUARS FINISH PLAY AT BUTLER’S DON BENBOW INVITATIONAL
OLDSMAR, Fla. – The IUPUI women’s golf team wrapped up play at Butler’s Don Benbow Spring Invitational on Tuesday (Mar. 12), carding a final round 321. The Jaguars finished seventh overall with a team score of 639 (318-321).
Annaliese Fox, Shelby Busker and Nerea Lancho all shot final rounds of 80 on Tuesday to lead the lineup. Senior Madeleine Pape rounded out the scoring four and Yanah Rolston carded a final round 83. Fox topped the lineup, finishing tied for 20th overall at 158 (78-80) and Busker was just behind her at 159 (79-80). Lancho recorded a second straight round of 80.
“I really enjoyed playing the Don Benbow Invitational in Florida. The course was tough and tight in some spots, so making sure you had a good line and you were committed to it was crucial. Even though I didn’t play my best golf in the last two rounds, it was definitely a great learning experience.
“Something outstanding about my round was how well I hit my 3-wood and my short game, which allowed me to save some shots throughout my round.”
Like Monday, teams struggled to score again on Tuesday as the lineup combined on just three birdies in the final round. The Jaguars sought pars throughout with Fox making 12 and Busker and Lancho making 11 apiece.
Freshman Nina Wojtczak paced IUPUI’s ‘B’ group for the second straight day with a final round 83 and Keisha Bennett shot 85. Both Bennett and Sydni Zebrauskas, making her collegiate debut, had a pair of birdies on the day.
Western Michigan won the team title by a nine-shot margin at 608 while Quinnipiac’s Leeyen Peralta was medalist at 2-over 146, winning by four shots.
IUPUI will return to action on Mar. 25-26 when it competes in the Julie, hosted by Northern Kentucky.
BALL STATE BASEBALL
BASEBALL BLASTS PURDUE FORT WAYNE 19-7
MUNCIE, IND. – The Ball State baseball team scored 10 runs in the second inning and eight in the third on its way to a 19-7 triumph over Purdue Fort Wayne in seven innings on Tuesday afternoon at the First Merchants Ballpark Complex.
The Cardinals (11-6) got a leadoff home run from Nick Gregory to even the score at 1-1 after Purdue Fort Wayne’s Jacob Walker did the same in the top half of the first. Gregory hit a leadoff shot in back-to-back games after doing so in Sunday’s win over Eastern Michigan.
Nine of Ball State’s 10 runs in the second came with two outs. Back-to-back-to-back home runs by Michael Hallquist, Hunter Dobbins and Decker Scheffler highlighted the offensive outburst, with Hallquist’s being a three-run blast.
Matthew Kamins hit a two-run double down the left field line, while Decker Scheffler walloped a two-run homer to right in the Cardinals’ eight-run third inning.
Ball State’s offense featured eight batters who scored multiple runs, while six Cardinals had multiple hits and RBI. Hallquist went 2-for-4 with the home run, four RBI and two runs scored, and Bevis hit 2-for-2 with a walk, two RBI and three runs.
Each of the first five players in the Ball State starting lineup hit a ball out of the park.
Keegan Johnson improved to 2-0 with three strikeouts in 2.0 innings of work while Owen Quinn (three strikeouts in 2.0 innings) and Will Jacobson (one strikeout in one frame) shut down the Purdue Fort Wayne offense in relief.
The Mastodons (6-12) threw six different pitchers, as starter Owen Willard (0-1) suffered the loss after allowing two runs in 1.1 innings.
“Our boys came out swinging offensively with a lot of guys contributing,” head coach Rich Maloney said. “We also struck out 10 and walked only two, which was a very positive performance from our pitching staff.”
Ball State is scheduled to host Bowling Green this weekend for a three-game set starting at 3 p.m. on Friday.
BALL STATE MEN’S GOLF
CARDINALS BATTLE INTO NINTH PLACE AS AUBURN COURSE DEFIES TIGER INVITATIONAL TEAMS
AUBURN, Ala. – Fighting through opening rounds with high scores at Auburn’s Tiger Invitational at the Auburn University Club, Ball State jumped up the leaderboard in Tuesday’s final round to finish in ninth place among 17 teams, two strokes behind East Carolina in eighth.
The par-72, 7591-yard course with firm greens was an obstacle for every golfer in the tournament – playing long and impacted by recent rain. Mired in the bottom half of team standings through two rounds, the Cardinals (312-309-300—921) flew into the top ten on Tuesday, at one point just one of two teams shooting par or better in the final round.
Ball State’s 300 (+12) ended as the fourth-best third-round score, just two strokes behind Auburn (298), Florida Gulf Coast (298) and Elon (298). Host and second-ranked Auburn (298-284-298–880) won the event while finishing 16-over-par as a team. Second-place FGCU (302-294-298—894) finished 30 strokes over par.
“We battled,” said Ball State coach Mike Fleck. “It was extremely tough out there today and all week. We made the biggest climb up the leaderboard today with one of the lowest final-round team scores. This was a championship venue and one of the hardest courses we have played over the last few years. We managed it much better today than we did yesterday.”
Over three rounds, four different Cardinals shared low-scoring honors for Ball State. Braxton Kuntz paced the Cardinals in round one at 4-over-par (76) and Ali Khan led the Cards with a 1-over 73 in round two. Carter Smith and Alec Cesare both carded a team-best 1-over 73 in the final round. Reflecting the event’s uncommon inconsistency was that Kash Bellar, playing in Ball State’s No. 1 position, never led a round for the Cardinals.
Added Fleck: “Everyone was just trying to survive. There wasn’t a lot on this course you could control. It was fair, it was just really hard. You knew challenges were going to pop up. You had to battle. You had to have some grit. I was proud of our guys today.”
Ball State found itself in 13th place after one round and slipped to 15th after two rounds, but jumped six spots in the final round as Ball State shaved nine strokes off its team score. Ball State was 24-over (312) in the first round and 21-over (309) in a second round that was suspended by darkness on Monday and resumed early Tuesday.
Further evidence of the topsy-turvy course navigation that confounded every team? Jacksonville was in third place with a first-round 300 (+12), but fell into trouble with a second-round 312 (+24) and final round 329 (+41) to finish 16th. Fellow Mid-American Conference schools Northern Illinois and Toledo finished in 13th and 15th place, respectively.
The Cardinals are idle for two weeks before taking part in the Mason Rudolph Championship at Vanderbilt, April 5-7.
Ball State Individual Results, Final
No. 3 Ali Khan (228): 39-40—79 | 37-36—73 | 39-37—76 (+12, 24th)
No. 5 Alec Cesare (231): 38-40—78 | 39-41—80 | 38-35—73 (+15, 39th)
No. 2 Carter Smith (232): 36-43—79 | 40-40—80 | 37-36—73 (+16, 44th)
No. 1 Kash Bellar (235): 39-42—81 | 35-41—76 | 42-36—78 (+19, 53rd)
No. 4 Braxton Kuntz (242): 38-38—76 | 39-44—83 | 41-42—83 (+26, 73rd)
BALL STATE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
WBB’S JOURNEY FOR A MAC TOURNEY TITLE BEGINS WEDNESDAY IN CLEVELAND AGAINST OHIO
Opening Tip:
– This is only the second-ever meeting between the Bobcats and the Cardinals in the Mid-American Conference Tournament. Ball State and Ohio’s first meeting in the league tournament resulted in a 61-59 loss for the Cardinals on March 10, 2021. That quarterfinal game Ohio was the No. 3 seed and Ball State was the No. 6 seed.
– The last time Ball State was the No. 2 seed in the MAC Tournament was in 2020. That year the Cardinals fell to No. 7 Eastern Michigan, 64-63.
– The Cardinals have been the No. 2 seed five times under the direction of 12th-year head coach Brady Sallee.
– Ball State won its two-game regular season series over the Bobcats this year. The first meeting was on Feb. 3 resulting in a 97-66 victory in Worthen Arena for Ball State. The Cardinals then registered a 75-60 win in Athens against the Bobcats on Feb. 17.
– This marks the 34th appearance in the Mid-American Conference Tournament in program history. Ball State has advanced to Cleveland 22 out of the past 24 seasons. The Cardinals are 23-32 all-time in MAC Tournament play and have advanced to the MAC Tournament finals on six occasions. Ball State defeated Bowling Green in 2009 in the MAC Tournament Championship game. This is the ninth time in current head coach Brady Sallee’s tenure the Cardinals have punched their ticket straight to the MAC Tournament in Cleveland.
– Ball State made history Saturday after finishing the regular season with a program best 27 overall wins and 16 victories in Mid-American Conference action.
– Ball State head coach Brady Sallee owns a 7-10 overall Mid-American Conference Tournament mark. The last time the Cardinals reached the final game was in 2022 when Ball State fell to Buffalo by a score of 79-74.
– Wednesday’s game against Ohio will mark the 73rd time in program history the two schools have met with the Bobcats leading the all-time series record, 39-33.
– A Cardinal win will send Ball State to the semifinal round for the third-straight season. The second-seeded Cardinals will play the winner of quarterfinal game No. 4 against the No. 3 seed Kent State Golden Flashes or the No. 6 seeded Northern Illinois Huskies. Ball State won the two-game series against Kent State and the Cardinals lost their lone meeting this season versus Northern Illinois.
– The last time the Cardinals faced the Golden Flashes at the MAC Tournament was in the first round in 2014. Ball State defeated Kent State at home 73-38 that year. The Cardinals and the Golden Flashes have never met in the semifinal round.
– If Ball State were to face Northern Illinois in the MAC Tournament semifinals it will be the first time the two programs have met since the 2022 season when the Cardinals were the No. 5 seed and defeated the fourth-seeded Huskies, 60-54. It will be the first time the two squads will have met in the semifinals.
– Ball State owns a 9-2 record in its bracket for the 2024 MAC Tournament after earning regular season victories over No. 1 Toledo, No. 8 Western Michigan, No. 5 Bowling Green, No. 4 Buffalo, No. 7 Ohio and No. 3 Kent State. The Cardinals’ took two-game sweeps this season against the Bull, the Bobcats and the Golden Flashes.
Tourney Tidbit:
In the 33 years of the tournament, the top seed has won the title 22 times. In 2016, the Buffalo Bulls became the lowest seed (#8) to ever advance to the tournament championship game and the highest seed to ever win the title. The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds have met 16 times in the championship game, with the top seed winning 14 times.
MAC Tourney Did You Know:
In the 33 years of the tournament, the top seed has won the title 22 times. In 2016, the Buffalo Bulls became the lowest seed (#8) to ever advance to the tournament championship game and the highest seed to ever win the title. The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds have met 16 times in the championship game, with the top seed winning 14 times.
MAC Tourney Appearances:
This season will mark the 34th appearance in the Mid-American Conference Tournament in program history. Ball State has advanced to Cleveland 22 out of the past 24 seasons. The Cardinals are 22-31 all-time in MAC Tournament play and have advanced to the MAC Tournament finals on six occasions. Ball State defeated Bowling Green in 2009 in the MAC Tournament Championship game.
BECKI, BISCHOFF, HAMPTON & RAUCH RECEIVE POST SEASON ALL-MAC ACCOLADES
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Juniors Ally Becki, Madelyn Bischoff, and Nyla Hampton, along with graduate senior Annie Rauch, have received postseason All-Mid-American Conference accolades as announced Tuesday (March 12) by the league office.
Becki was named All-MAC First Team and All-MAC Defensive Team. Bischoff earned All-MAC Third Team, and Hampton was tabbed MAC Defensive Player of the Year along with earning a spot on the All-MAC Defensive Team. In addition, Rauch was voted the MAC Sixth Player of the Year.
Becki earns postseason accolades for the third straight year as she currently leads the team in scoring average at 12.8 points per game. She became the 17th Cardinal to reach 1,000+ career points and 500+ career rebounds this season. A three-time MAC Player of the Week in 2023-24, Becki scored her 1,000th career point in the nationally televised win over Toledo (Jan. 21). The star-studded junior tallied a career-best 36-point performance at Central Michigan (Jan. 17), with the total tying as the fifth-most points scored in a game in program history.
Bischoff has been one of the nation’s best shooters behind the arc this season, leading the Cardinals with 77 3-pointers made. She ranks 25th among all DI players in 3-pointers per game (2.57), 30th in total 3-pointers (77), and 34th in 3-point percentage (40.3). Bischoff chipped in a season-best 22 points this year at Troy (Nov. 11) and has reached double-digit scoring 19 times.
Hampton earns MAC Defensive Player of the Year honors for the second straight season, while being named to the MAC All-Defensive Team for the fourth time in her career. A force to reckon with, Hampton ranks fourth in the nation in steals (104) and steals per game (3.35) while also leading the league in both categories. She stole the ball a career-high eight times twice this season, against Tennessee Tech (Nov. 6) and at Northern Illinois (Feb. 7). She also leads the Cardinals in assists with 152. Against Toledo in Worthen Arena, Hampton scored her 1,000th career point between her time at Bowling Green and Ball State.
Rauch has been a strong presence off the bench for the Cardinals all season. One of Ball State’s go-two post players, she recently scored her 1,000th career point on her senior day against Eastern Michigan (March 2). The effort helped Rauch become the 18th player in program history to reach 1,000+ career points and 500+ career rebounds. Rauch has scored in double-figures 13 times this year, including a season-best 18 points at Chicago State (Nov. 14).
Under Sallee, the Cardinals have now had 38 postseason All-MAC selections.
Ball State opens play in the 2024 MAC Tournament Wednesday as the No. 2 seed and will take on No. 7 Ohio in the day’s third quarterfinal game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Tipoff will be 30 minutes following game two.
For the most up-to-date news on the Ball State women’s basketball team, please follow @BallStateSports, @BSUCoachBrady and @BallStateWBB on Instagram and Twitter.
INDIANA STATE SOFTBALL
D.HENNING & ROBAKOWSKI BOTH HOMER IN RUN-RULE WIN OVER EVANSVILLE
EVANSVILLE, Ind.- The Sycamores run-rule Evansville in five innings with a score of 9-0 in their first MVC matchup.
Indiana State 9 , Evansville 0 (5 inn.)
Lauren Sackett (6-5) with the shutout victory for the Sycamores where she allowed only two hits, zero runs scored and struck out four in 5.0 innings of work.
Indiana State took the early lead in the first inning where they scored two runs when Abi Chipps and Danielle Henning were walked and Abby Robakowski connected on a single to drive in both runs to take the 2-0 lead over Evansville.
The Sycamores added four more runs in the second inning where Abi Chipps singled and Danielle Henning hit her first home run of the 2024 season to drive in two runs. Kennedy Shade connected on a single before Abby Robakowski hit her third home run of the season to advance Indiana State’s lead to 6-0 over the Purple Aces.
In the fourth inning, Indiana State scored their final three runs to further their lead over Evansville with a score of 9-0. Great base running by Sophie Esposito and Kennedy Shade scored the first two runs in inning four, and a sacrifice fly by Livi Colip drove in the final run by Kenzie Cornwell.
Up Next:
Indiana State will play again tomorrow against Evansville with the first pitch set at 6 p.m ET! Game will be streamed on ESPN+.
INDIANA STATE WOMEN’S GOLF
ISU GOLF TIES FOR NINTH IN FIRST TOURNAMENT OF THE SEASON
Tampa, Fla. – Indiana State golf moved up two spots in round two of the Butler Don Benbow Spring Invitational to finish tied for ninth place with Long Island University. This was the team’s first outing of the spring season.
The Sycamores finished +70 as a team for a total of 646.
Briana LeMaire was the top finisher, tying for 14th after coming in 30th in through the first round. LeMaire finished one-over in round two, birdieing in two of the final three holes of the day. Kristen Hobbs was the second-leading scorer for Indiana State, tying for 17th with a score of +13.
Iyoun Chew finished the invitational shooting 22-over, tying for 58th. Chew shot one-over in five-straight holes, but tightened up and in the final four holes finished with two pars and a birdie to save the 58th-place finish.
Yang Tai tied for 60th place with a score of +23 to round out the four scorers, Tai parred four holes and used two birdies to secure the 60th-place finish.
Eliza Baker was the fifth starter for ISU, finishing with tied for 82nd.
Sophia Florek and Chelsea Morrow both played as individuals and both tied for 41st with a score of +19. Florek used eight pars and two birdies to finish in the top 50, and Morrow used seven pars with two birdies.
Up Next
ISU travels to Prospect, Ky. For the Nevel Meade Invite on March 18-19 at the Nevel Meade Golf Club.
INDIANA STATE BASEBALL
SEVENTH-INNING RALLY LEADS INDIANA STATE PAST ILLINOIS IN SYCAMORE 2024 HOME OPENER
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State’s offense exploded for six runs in the game-deciding bottom of the seventh inning as the Sycamores held off visiting Illinois on Tuesday afternoon at Bob Warn Field with the 7-6 win.
The Sycamores (12-3) sent 11 batters to the plate with the first six reaching base safely and scoring in the decisive frame as Indiana State rallied back against the Illinois (5-10) bullpen in the contest. Grant Magill provided the first spark of the inning following Josue Urdaneta’s leadoff walk with a two-run home run over the wall in centerfield to cut the Illinois lead down to 6-3.
Randal Diaz connected on a line drive double down the left field line against UI reliever Will Lavin (0-1). Following a wild pitch, Dominic Listi brought home Diaz with a soft single to left field cutting the deficit down to 6-4. Luis Hernandez followed with a sharp single back up the middle setting the stage for Mike Sears, and the senior third baseman delivered with his team-leading sixth home run of the season giving ISU the lead for the first time on Tuesday afternoon.
Zach Davidson and Simon Gregersen (S, 1) worked scoreless eighth and ninth innings for the Sycamore bullpen in the game to help ISU secure its third consecutive win in the series against Illinois and seventh consecutive win over the Fighting Illini at Bob Warn Field dating back to the 2006 season.
Illinois built the early 6-1 lead thanks in part to Camden Janik’s solo home run in the first and Brody Harding’s three-run home run in the fourth. The Fighting Illini offense came in support of UI starter Cooper Omans who went 6.0 innings scattering three hits and an unearned run, while walking two and striking out 10.
Diaz, Listi, and Hernandez all posted multi-hit games on Tuesday afternoon with Listi posting his first multi-RBI game of the season. Urdaneta added a double and two runs scored, while Sears (3) and Magill (2) both drove in multiple runs.
Adam Berghorst went the first 2.0 innings allowing three hits and a run in his first start as a Sycamore. Jared Spencer added a 3.0-inning relief stint allowing two hits and four runs while striking out four. Jacob Spencer (1-0) pitched 2.0 scoreless innings allowing just a Janik single in the top of the seventh while striking out one in his first victory.
Davidson worked a scoreless eighth frame and picked up the first out in the ninth, before turning the ball over to Gregersen. The junior right-hander retired the final two Illinois batters getting Cal Hejza to swing at strike three to end the game for his first save of the year.
Lavin took the loss for UI allowing four hits and four runs without recording an out. Jake Rons allowed both batters he faced to score to open the seventh, while Regan Hall worked the final 2.0 innings allowing three hits to close out the game.
Coltin Quagliano paced Illinois with a three-hit game including a double, while Cameron Chee-Aloy added a double in the loss.
How They Scored
Illinois took the early 1-0 lead on Camden Janik’s two-out, solo home run over the left center wall to put the Fighting Illini ahead in the top of the first inning.
Brody Harding made it 4-0 Illinois in the top of the fourth inning driving in Vytas Valincius and Coltin Quagliano with a two-out, three-run home run over the right field wall off ISU reliever Jared Spencer.
Dominic Listi put the Sycamores on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth inning following up Josue Urdaneta’s leadoff double with an RBI sacrifice fly to right field to cut the deficit down to 4-1.
Illinois added two more runs in the top of the sixth as Valincius connected on a two-run single past a drawn in ISU infield scoring Drake Westcott and Quagliano to make it 6-1 in favor of the guests.
The Sycamores’ first six batters in the bottom of the seventh inning scored with Grant Magill (two-run) and Mike Sears (three-run) both connecting on home runs as Indiana State exploded for six runs to take the 7-6 lead in frame. Overall, the Sycamores recorded seven hits and sent 11 batters to the plate in the game-deciding frame.
News & Notes
Luis Hernandez continued his 14-game hitting streak on Tuesday afternoon with a pair of singles on the day.
Dominic Listi has reached base safely in all 15 games in 2024 connecting on a pair of singles and adding a hit-by-pitch in the win.
Mike Sears has connected on a three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh for his team-leading sixth home run of the season.
Each of Mike Sears’ last six hits have left the ballpark dating back to his three-run shot against Vanderbilt on February 27.
Simon Gregersen becomes the fifth Indiana State pitcher to record a save in the 2024 season.
Jacob Spencer becomes the ninth ISU pitcher to record a win in the 2024 season.
Grant Magill homered for the first time in 2024 and first since connecting on a two-run shot at UIC last season on March 31, 2023.
Indiana State has won the last three contests against Illinois and seven consecutive home games against the Fighting Illini dating back to the 2006 season.
Up Next
Indiana State is back on the road this weekend as the Sycamores travel to Cincinnati, Ohio and Xavier University for a three-game series at Hayden Field. First pitch in Friday’s opener is set for 3 p.m. ET. The entire weekend series is scheduled to be broadcast live via FloBaseball.
INDIANA STATE SWIMMING
SYCAMORES TRAVEL TO CSCAA NIC, NCAA ZONE C DIVING QUALIFIERS THIS WEEK
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Eight Sycamore swimmers are heading down to the 2024 CSCAA National Invitational Championship, while two Indiana State divers are heading to the NCAA Zone C Qualifiers as ISU swimming & diving continues postseason competition this weekend.
Dorotea Bukvic, Alexandria Cotter, Erin Cummins, Chloe Farro, Kaleigh Kelley, Claire Parsons, Ali Pearson, and Alexa Szadorski all qualified for the CSCAA NIC held down in Ocala, Fla. over March 14-16. The three-day event will feature preliminary rounds in the starting at 9:30 a.m., while event finals begin at 6 p.m. The distance session and events are set for Saturday and Sunday.
Bailey Betzer (1M) and Zoe Smith (1M & 3M) both qualified for the NCAA Zone C Diving qualifiers set to run from March 13-16 in Louisville, Ky. at the Ralph Wright Natatorium. It marks Betzer’s first appearance in the NCAA Zones, while Smith returns for her second season in the ISU Blue & White after qualifying for both in the 2022-23 season.
“We’re excited to return to the CSCAA NIC meet,” head coach Josh Christensen said. “This is a great opportunity for our program to compete on a national level against some top tier competition. We’ve had a tremendous season and we’ve got some excellent opportunities to add to that down in Florida this weekend.”
The Sycamores look to continue a growing trend at the CSCAA NIC’s last season highlighted by ISU alum Marni Gray going three-for-three in advancing to event finals. It also marks the fourth consecutive season ISU has sent a team to the CSCAA postseason.
Indiana State recorded 16 school records over the course of the 2023-24 season. The Sycamores rewrote the record book with new marks in the 50-, 100-, 200-, 500-, 1000-, and 1650-Freestyle events, the 50- and 100-Breaststroke, the 100-Fly, the 100-, 200-, and 400-IMs, and four of the five team relays to highlight the year.
Indiana State swimming and diving finished second overall in the 2024 MVC Swimming & Diving Championships after posting a program-record 1294.5 points in the Sycamores’ second consecutive runner-up result at the conference’s premier meet. The Sycamores set 11 new school records over the four-day event in Evansville at the Deaconess Aquatic Center.
Overall, 14 Sycamores received All-Conference recognition highlighted by Erin Cummins (500 Free), Claire Parsons (500 Free & 1650 Free), Alexandria Cotter (200 IM & 400 IM), and Kaleigh Kelley (100 Fly) all earning First Team All-Conference honors after finishing in the top three in an individual A-Final.
Ten additional Sycamores also competed in the A-Finals over the Missouri Valley Championships finishing inside the top-eight in their specific events. Esther Rydbeck Norden, Dorotea Bukvic, Alexa Szadorski, Zoe Smith, Chloe Farro, Kaimi Matsumoto, Raz Harel, Ali Pearson, Haley Halsall, and Olivia DiRuzza all competed in the event finals in multiple events throughout the weekend.
The NCAA Zone C Diving Events schedule:
Thursday, March 14
Prelims/Quarterfinals (10 a.m.) – Women’s 1M Diving
Finals – Women’s 1M Diving
Friday, March 15
Prelims/Quarterfinals (10 a.m.) – Women’s 3M Diving
Finals – Women’s 3M Diving
The CSCAA Events schedule:
Thursday, March 14
Prelims (9:30 a.m.): 50 Backstroke, 500 Freestyle, 50 Butterfly, 200 IM, 50 Breaststroke, 50 Freestyle, 400 Medley Relay
Finals (6 p.m.): 200 Free Relay, 50 Backstroke, 500 Freestyle, 50 Butterfly, 200 IM, 50 Breaststroke, 50 Freestyle, 400 Medley Relay
Friday, March 15
Prelims (9:30 a.m.): 400 IM, 100 Butterfly, 200 Freestyle, 100 Breaststroke, 100 Backstroke, 800 Freestyle Relay
Finals (6 p.m.): 200 Medley Relay, 400 IM, 100 Butterfly, 200 Freestyle, 100 Breaststroke, 100 Backstroke, 800 Freestyle Relay
Saturday, March 16
Prelims (9:30 a.m.): 100 IM, 200 Backstroke, 100 Freestyle, 200 Breaststroke, 200 Butterfly, 400 Freestyle Relay, 1000/1650 Freestyle
Finals (6 p.m.): 1000/1650 Freestyle, 100 IM, 200 Backstroke, 100 Freestyle, 200 Breaststroke, 200 Butterfly, 400 Freestyle Relay
PURDUE FT. WAYNE BASEBALL
WALKER COLLECTS THREE HITS IN LOSS TO BALL STATE
MUNCIE, Ind. – Jacob Walker racked up three hits in Purdue Fort Wayne’s 19-7 loss to the Ball State Cardinals on Tuesday (March 12) in non-league baseball action.
Walker put Purdue Fort Wayne on the board with a leadoff home run in the first. It was one of three home runs in the game for the ‘Dons. Jackson Micheels hit a three-run shot in the seventh inning and Justin Osterhouse had a sixth inning two-run home run. The freshman Osterhouse now has seven home runs on the season. Walker has three homers. The home run for Micheels was his first as a Mastodon. Micheels also walked in the game.
The Cardinals opened the game up with a 10-run second and an eight-run third inning.
Ball State was led offensively by Michael Hallquist, who went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and four RBI.
Keegan Johnson threw two innings to get the win for the Cardinals. Owen Willard took the loss for the ‘Dons.
Ball State improves to 11-6. The ‘Dons fall to 6-12. Purdue Fort Wayne opens league play this weekend at Youngstown State.
EVANSVILLE BASEBALL
BASEBALL RETURNS HOME WEDNESDAY TO HOST SEMO
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville baseball team will return home briefly on Wednesday night to host the visiting Southeast Missouri State Redhawks at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium. First-pitch is set for 6 p.m.
Evansville will look to get back in the win column on Wednesday night after dropping three games at SEC power Mississippi State over the weekend. UE will bring a 7-8 overall record into Wednesday’s contest. Despite getting limited by Mississippi State’s pitching staff over the weekend, Evansville still ranks in the NCAA’s top 25 in three major offensive categories entering this week’s action. UE is currently sixth in the nation in doubles (25), 21st in total hits (173) and 23rd in team batting average (.322).
Graduate outfielder Mark Shallenberger continues to pace the UE attack with a .407 batting average. Shallenberger has reached base safely in 31-straight games dating back to last year, and he has done so by reaching base by any means necessary. He currently leads UE in batting average, walks (12) and hit-by-pitches (nine). His nine HBPs are currently tied for the top spot in the Missouri Valley Conference, and he ranks ninth nationally overall.
Southeast Missouri State will bring a 7-10 overall record into Wednesday’s game. The Redhawks will be looking to snap a two-game losing streak, as they dropped the final two games of a series at Marshall over the weekend. Junior outfielder Michael Mugan currently leads the SEMO offense with a .353 batting average, while he is second on the team with four home runs. As a team, the Redhawks have launched 24 home runs already this year.
Evansville and SEMO split a home-and-home series last year, with both teams winning on the other’s home field. UE has opened the 2024 season on fire at home, as the Purple Aces are 4-1 at home this year thanks to an offense which has hit .401 as a team and scored 63 runs in five home contests.
EVANSVILLE SOFTBALL
SYCAMORES DEFEAT ACES IN VALLEY OPENER
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – After scoring two runs in the first and four in the second, Indiana State defeated the University of Evansville softball team by a final score of 9-0 at Tri-State Orthopaedics Field at James & Dorothy Cooper Stadium on Tuesday.
Indiana State used the long ball to open a 6-0 lead in the opening two innings. Abby Robakowski opened the scoring with a RBI single with a second run scoring on an error on the play. Danielle Henning and Robakowski each had 2-run homers in the second to push he lead to 6-0.
Evansville had its first scoring opportunity in the bottom of the third, loading the bases as Zoe Frossard picked up the Purple Aces’ first hit of the game before a flyout got ISU out of the inning. The Sycamores responded with a 3-run fourth frame to push the lead to 9-0.
ISU would hold strong from there, taking the MVC opener by a 9-0 final.
Frossard and Alexa Davis accounted for the Aces hits. Mikayla Jolly tossed three innings with eight runs scoring, six of which were earned. Elle Jarrett gave up one earned run in two frames. Lauren Sackett threw the complete game for ISU on the way to her 6th win of the season.
Wednesday night will feature another meeting between the squads at 5 p.m.
SOUTHERN INDIANA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
USI WOMEN’S BASKETBALL RECEIVES FIRST-EVER RANKING IN COLLEGEINSIDER.COM WOMEN’S MID-MAJOR TOP 25®
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball made its first-ever debut in the CollegeInsider.com Women’s Mid-Major Top 25® rankings Tuesday evening, checking in at No. 22 in the latest poll.
Now in its’ 14th season, the Women’s Mid-Major Top 25® is voted on by 31 Division I coaches. The poll is announced every Tuesday on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Southern Indiana (24-6) had been receiving votes for the mid-major rankings since January 30, but the Screaming Eagles cracked the top 25 following a sweep of the 2023-24 Ohio Valley Conference regular season championship and most recently the 2024 OVC Women’s Basketball Tournament championship. USI was the only OVC school to be ranked or receive votes in the latest release of the rankings.
The Screaming Eagles captured the first two OVC team championships for USI Athletics this season, capturing the regular-season title by six games before winning back-to-back games against Eastern Illinois University and the University of Tennessee at Martin in last week’s OVC Championship Tournament. USI defeated the Panthers by a score of 69-54 in the semifinals and by a score of 81-53 over UT Martin in the championship game.
USI’s 28-point margin of victory in Saturday’s championship game also ranked among the largest margins of victory in the OVC Women’s Basketball Tournament championship game history, just short of the championship game’s top-two point differentials of 32 and 30 points.
Compared to recent history, Saturday’s championship win put Southern Indiana with the likes of the University of North Dakota’s 2011-12 team (Great West Conference) and California Baptist University’s 2020-21 team (Western Athletic Conference) to win a regular season and conference tournament championship in the same season during a transition period.
Plus, Southern Indiana is currently enjoying a 10-game winning streak for the second time this season, matching a team best since the 2017-18 season. The 2017-18 season was also the last time USI had won at least 24 games overall as the Screaming Eagles have done so far this season.
The Screaming Eagles will carry their No. 22 ranking in the mid-major poll into its automatic qualification for the WNIT. The WNIT is a postseason tournament not sanctioned by the NCAA. The Screaming Eagles will wait and see to find out the field as well as dates and times in a little over a week. Stay tuned to usiscreamingeagles.com and @USIAthletics on social media for more information.
SOUTHERN INDIANA BASEBALL
USI ROLLS TO 12-9 WIN AT MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – University of Southern Indiana Baseball rolled through Middle Tennessee State University with a 12-9 victory Tuesday afternoon in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. USI is 8-8 in the non-conference season, while MTSU goes to 8-8.
The victory was the fourth-straight for the Screaming Eagles, marking the longest winning streak since May 2022 when USI swept four on the road from the University of Indianapolis.
USI opened the scoring in the second inning when junior centerfielder Terrick Thompson-Allen (Sioux City, Iowa) scored on an error to put the Eagles up 1-0. The Raiders bounced back in the bottom half of the frame to knot the game up at 1-1.
Following a scoreless third inning, USI opened up offensively with a tally in the fourth and a five-spot in the top of the fifth. USI junior catcher Logan Mock (Livermore, California) put the Eagles in front with an RBI-single in the fourth, scoring Thompson-Allen for a second time.
Senior first baseman Tucker Ebest (Austin, Texas) started the USI rally in the fifth with a RBI-single for a 3-1 lead, before senior designated hitter Jack Ellis (Jeffersonville, Indiana) got the Eagles really rolling at the plate with a two-RBI single to make the score 5-1 with one out.
USI junior third baseman Lane Crowden (Jackson, Missouri) pushed another run across with a ground out to extend the lead to 6-1, while Mock struck again with a RBI-double down the left field line for a 7-1 margin.
The Raiders struck for three in the bottom of the sixth to cut the USI advantage to 7-4, but the Eagles got two of the runs back in the top of the seventh when senior leftfielder Trent Robinson (Louisville, Kentucky) dropped a two-run double into left center for a 9-4 lead.
MTSU matched the USI two-run rally in the bottom of the seventh to make the score, 9-6. The Eagles, once again, extended their lead to six, 12-6, with a three-spot in the eighth. Mock struck again with a run-scoring double, while senior rightfielder Ren Tachioka (Japan) pushed USI’s final two runs across the plate with a single.
USI’s six-run lead was cut in half for the second time in the game when MTSU matched the Eagles’ rally with three more runs in the bottom of the eighth to make the score, 12-9.
After USI left a runner on in the ninth, MTSU got the tying run to the on-deck circle before the Eagles closed the door on a hard fought 12-9 win.
At the plate in the game, Mock led the Eagles by going four-for-four with a run scored and three RBI and two doubles. Ellis and Tachioka followed with three hits, three runs scored and two RBI each.
The win went to junior right-hander Carson Seeman (Auburn, California) in relief. Seeman (1-1) threw a pair of scoreless innings, allowing a walk, in getting the win.
USI junior right-hander Tyler Hutson (Villa Hills, Kentucky) posted his third save of the season, throwing a scoreless ninth inning. Hutson (3) walked two and struck out three versus the five batters faced.
Up Next for the Eagles:
USI continue the second half of the nine-game road swing this weekend when it visits the University of Illinois in Champaign, Illinois. The visit will be the first game and series between USI and Illinois in the history of the baseball programs.
The Illini start the weekend 5-10 overall, losing its last four games and five of the last six.
VALPO MEN’S GOLF
VANARRAGON TIED FOR THIRD WITH ONE ROUND REMAINING AT GCU
Fifth-year senior Caleb VanArragon (Blaine, Minn. / Blaine) led the Valparaiso University men’s golf team on the first day of the GCU Invite, hosted at the par-71 GCU Golf Course in Phoenix. VanArragon is tied for third on the player leaderboard.
How It Happened
VanArragon stroked a 66 in Round 1 followed by a 68 in Round 2 to finish the first day of action at 134 (-8). He is even with Arran Kanth of UT Arlington and behind only GCU’s Tommaso Zorzetto (130, -12) and Arizona State’s Pongsapak Laopakdee (133, -9) on the player leaderboard.
VanArragon’s 66 tied for his season low round and the best round by any Beacon this season.
Also inside the top 30 in a competitive, 93-player field is Valpo junior Anthony Delisanti (Sanborn, N.Y. / Niagara Wheatfield), who is tied for 27th at 141 (-1). He carded a 72 in the opening round before improving to 69 in Round 2.
The third-best Beacon on Monday was Mason Bonn (Sherwood, Ore. / Sherwood) at 145 (+3, 72-73), who is part of a tie for 51st. Sam Booth (Carmel, Ind. / Carmel) is one stroke behind Bonn at 146, t-62.
Valpo finished the day tied for seventh of 16 on the team leaderboard. The Beacons carded identical scores in both rounds at 283, finishing -2 as a team through 36 holes. Host GCU owns the team lead at 22 strokes under par.
Thoughts from Head Coach Dave Gring
“I was very pleased with the decision making on the golf course today. I thought the guys managed the golf course very well and kept their composure and concentration over a very long day on the course. This was the first time we have played and walked 36 holes in five months, so it was an endurance test for us. Our shots off the tees and into the greens were pretty sharp all day. We need to work on our proximity to the hole with our short irons and wedges tomorrow and that will give us better opportunities for more birdies.”
“Caleb’s ball-striking in the first round was exceptional. He hit all 18 greens in regulation and narrowly missed five consecutive birdie putts on the back nine. His scorecard in that first round was super clean, with five birdies and all pars. He wasn’t quite as sharp with his ball-striking on the front nine of his second round, but he still managed to finish with another five birdies for the round and a solid final nine holes. His putting was terrific all day, and he’s in a great position to finish the tournament well tomorrow.”
Up Next
The final round of the GCU Invitational at GCU Golf Course in Phoenix will take place on Wednesday. A link to live scoring via Golf Genius is available on ValpoAthletics.com.
VALPO WOMEN’S TENNIS
TENNIS TOPS UTEP TO CLOSE SPRING TRIP
The Valparaiso University tennis team rallied after dropping the doubles point by winning four of the five singles matches that reached their conclusion, beating UTEP 4-2 in a match that utilized a clinch-clinch format on Tuesday in Huntsville, Texas.
How It Happened
UTEP won the No. 3 doubles match, but both other doubles collisions came down to the wire with the Beacons needing to take both to win the doubles point. The No. 1 doubles tandem of Olivia Czerwonka (Kenosha, Wis. / Saint Joseph Catholic Academy) and Moira Silva (Houston, Texas / Houston Tennis Academy) joined forces to edge UTEP’s Zuzanna Szczepanska and Veronika Lebisova on a tiebreak 7-6(4).
The final doubles match to finish came at No. 2, where Sydney Stone (Brisbane, Australia [Tyler JC]) and Jolene Fernandes (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) also went to a tiebreak, but Carlotta Mencaglia and Hanna Telzynska prevailed 7-6(4) to help the Miners go up 1-0 in the match.
Czerwonka was the first player off her singles court, downing Telzynska 6-2, 6-4 in straight sets. She was followed in victory by Elizabeth Sobieski (Muskego, Wis. / Muskego), who won 7-5, 6-2 over Paloma Hennicaux at No. 5.
UTEP got even at 2-2 when the No. 3 singles match went final, but the Beacons regained the lead when Stone edged out a tiebreak in the second set to beat Emma Stuart 6-2, 7-6(5) at No. 6.
The No. 1 and No. 4 singles matches both went to third sets, with Valpo needing to win only one to lock up the match. That came at No. 4, when Fernandes finalized a 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 win over Szczepanska. Silva led Leisova 6-2, 1-6, 4-3 when play was halted.
Inside the Match
Czerwonka boosted her singles win total to 19 this season and 82 in her collegiate career. She advanced into a tie for fifth in single-season program history in singles wins.
Czerwonka, the program recordholder for career singles wins, moved into a tie for fourth in school history (men’s and women’s) with Dave Bacalla (2013-2017).
Czerwonka garnered her program-record 75th career doubles victory, moving into a tie for third in school history (men’s and women’s) with Bacalla. She and Silva achieved their 13th doubles win this season.
Fernandes (14), Sobieski (13) and Stone (11) all bolstered their season win totals in singles play.
Up Next
The Beacons (8-6) will return home to host Omaha on Saturday at 2 p.m. at The Courts of Northwest Indiana.
VALPO BASEBALL
SOLID DAY ON THE MOUND, THREE-RUN NINTH HELP VALPO PAST GARDNER-WEBB
The Valparaiso University baseball team received a solid start from Kaleb Krier (Altoona, Iowa / Southeast Polk [DMACC]) and the bullpen did good work, helping the Beacons capture a 5-2 road win over Gardner-Webb on Tuesday in Boiling Springs, N.C. Valpo hurlers did not issue a walk in the win.
How It Happened
Gardner-Webb got on the board with a two-out solo shot in the bottom of the first. However, that was the extent of the scoring against Krier, who did not yield a run over his remaining four frames. The righty sent down the Runnin’ Bulldogs in order in each of his final two innings of work, yielding one total run on four hits over five frames while receiving no decision.
The Valpo bats were quiet over the game’s first four innings, but the Beacons broke through in the fifth when Alex Ryan (Lake Mills, Wis. / Lakeside Lutheran) singled with two outs and nobody on base and eventually crossed the dish on a wild pitch to level the score.
In the top of the seventh, Carson Husmann (Hanna, Ind. / South Central [Bradley]) drilled a double, but a runner was cut down trying to score from first. Husmann scored a moment later on a single by Ryan to put the Beacons ahead 2-1.
Reliever Grant Jablonski (Mishawaka, Ind. / Mishawaka) entered the game in the sixth and faced the minimum over two scoreless frames in which he did not allow a run. He eventually picked up the win, his first decision of the season. Jake Jakubowski (Lake in the Hills, Ill. / Hunley [Heartland]) entered the game in the bottom of the eighth with Valpo clinging to a 2-1 lead and posted a zero.
Valpo tacked on three insurance runs in the top of the ninth that proved crucial. Kaleb Hannahs (West Terre Haute, Ind. / West Vigo) lifted a sacrifice fly, Ryan scored on a wild pitch and Chase Maifield (Fox Lake, Ill. / Grant [Augustana]) added a pinch-hit single to make it 5-1.
The Beacons inserted Trent Turzenski (Burlington, Wis. / Burlington) to get the final three outs in the bottom of the ninth. He did the job as Gardner-Webb did pick up a run on Alec Burns’ second home run of the game. Solo shots by Burns in the first inning and the final inning accounted for the only runs allowed by the Runnin’ Bulldogs.
Inside the Game
The Valpo pitching staff did not issue any walks, while the bats drew eight bases on balls plus three hit batters. Valpo pitching has allowed two walks or fewer in six straight games.
Ryan lashed two hits, accounting for two of the team’s five. Kyle Schmack (Wanatah, Ind. / South Central) had three walks.
Valpo produced five runs on just five hits as the Beacons were outhit 6-5. The lone extra-base knock for the Brown & Gold came from Husmann, who picked up his second double and fourth extra-base hit in 2024.
Hannahs was hit by a pitch, extending his on-base streak to 15.
Up Next
Valpo (7-8) will play a three-game weekend series at No. 21 Campbell starting on Friday at 5 p.m. CT in Buies Creek, N.C. Links to live coverage will be available on ValpoAthletics.com.
VALPO WOMEN’S GOLF
WOMEN’S GOLF IMPROVES TEAM SCORE ON FINAL DAY OF DON BENBOW SPRING INVITE
The Valparaiso University women’s golf team improved its team score on the second and final day of the Don Benbow Spring Invitational, which was hosted by Butler this week at the par-72, 6297-yard Ardea Country Club in Oldsmar, Fla. Roslyn Leitner (Dundee, Ill. / Harry Jacobs) led the team for the 36-hole event.
How It Happened
A trio of Beacons shared the team lead in Tuesday’s round as Leitner, Katie Schreiner (Fenton, Mo. / Summit) and Anna Fay (Ada, Mich. / Forest Hills) all carded 82s in Round 2.
This brought Leitner’s 36-hole score to 166, helping her finish tied for 58th in a 97-golfer field.
Schreiner followed at 169, a stroke ahead of Fay and Taylor Skibinski (Michigan City, Ind. / Michigan City), who both needed 170 strokes over the two rounds.
Schreiner eagled the par-4 third hole in Round 2, notching the only eagle by any player in the entire tournament.
Valpo improved Monday’s team score by seven strokes, carding a 334 on Tuesday to finish the event at 675. The Beacons moved ahead of IUPUI-B on the team leaderboard to finish 15th.
Western Michigan took the team title at 608, while Quinnipiac’s Leeyen Peralta was the individual medalist with a 146.
Up Next
Valpo will return to the course on Monday, March 25 to begin the Northern Kentucky Julie Invitational at Elks Run Golf Course in Batavia, Ohio. A link to live scoring will be available on ValpoAthletics.com.
UINDY SWIMMING
SCHOOL RECORDS FALL AS HOUNDS OPEN SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
NDIANAPOLIS—The UIndy swimming & diving team kicked off the 2024 NCAA DII Championships Tuesday night with a pair of memorable performances. With just two events being held on day one, the Greyhounds earned All-America honors and broke school records in both the men’s and women’s 800 free relays.
The Greyhound quartet of Celina Schmidt, Andrea Gomez, Jamie Glover and Brynhildur Traustadottir opened the festivities by combining for the fastest women’s 800 freestyle relay time in program history. Their time of 7:21.02 not only earned seventh place and All-America accolades, but also bested the school record by a half second.
The UIndy men’s team followed with an All-American performance of their own. Cedric Buessing, Silas Buessing, Elias Noe and Joao Silva also took seventh place, with their combined time of 6:29.28 topping the school record set at last year’s Nationals.
Earlier in the day, the diving pre-qualification meet was held at the Natatorium. Three UIndy divers officially advanced to Nationals, with Alexis Lumaj, Jason Lenzo and Julio Osuna all earning a chance at All-America and national championship accolades later this week.
The national meet is being held at the SPIRE Institute Aquatics Center just outside of Cleveland Tuesday through Saturday. Action continues tomorrow with morning prelims at 10 a.m. ET, followed by diving at 1 p.m. and evening finals at 5:30 p.m.
UINDY BASEBALL
GREYHOUNDS SPLIT UNNATURAL DOUBLEHEADER WITH STORM
INDIANAPOLIS – The UIndy baseball team played 11 innings of baseball on Tuesday, but in one of the more unique ways. The Greyhounds kicked off their midweek battle with the Lake Erie storm, finalizing a contest that dated back to Feb. 17 at Mercy Health Stadium in Avon, OH in a three-way hosted by the Notre Dame College Falcons where they had snow halt their first battle with the storm in the eighth inning, with the score tied 6-6.
The teams finished that contest today at Greyhound Park, with the Storm taking the victory 7-6. The Hounds, despite the setback, came to play in game two using 17 walks issued by the Storm to win 16-9.
In game two, five different players recorded multiple free passes in the bout, with Easton Good – three – and Dom Brown – four – leading the Hounds. Outside of walks, the Hounds saw Good, Caleb Vaughn and Dakota Sill record multi-hit days, with the RBI leader going to Zack Williams with three on the day, two of coming via a big sixth-inning double.
GAME 1 | Lake Erie 7, UIndy 6
In game one of the abnormal doubleheader, the Hounds were the ones to take the early advantage back on Feb. 17 with a Cole Hampton RBI single into right in the first frame of action. Good applied a sacrifice bunt in the second frame to give the Hounds the early 2-0 lead. That lead evaporated as quickly as they got it as a single and double in the fourth tied it at two.
Picking up their starter Dawson Gabe, the Hounds etched across a trio of runs in the bottom half of the fourth, with Good and Brayton Bowen notching ribbies in the process. The Storm continued to claw back in as a run in the sixth and a three-spot in the seventh gave them their first lead of the contest. Situation hitting by Vaughn kept brought the score back tied as the game was halted heading into the top of the eighth.
With the game resumed in Indianapolis, both teams were silenced in the eighth as E.J White elicited a one-two-three frame. A walk and a sac bunt left a runner at second in the top of the ninth for White as a single down the left field line scored the eventual winning run for the storm.
GAME 2 | UIndy 16, Lake Erie 9
As the first conventional game of the day began, the Hounds attacked early, scratching across a crooked number in the first frame and a pair of runs in both the second and the third. Vaughn was a big part of all three frames as he crushed a two RBI double in the second and used his speed to catch the Storm fielders dozing.
The Storm went blow-for-blow with the Hounds up until the fifth where a big four spot by the home team marked the beginning of the end for the visitors. A Donaldson RBI walk with bases juiced kicked off the scoring a Zack Williams recorded a RBI sac fly and eventually Sill delivered the death blow with a crushed double into left.
From that point on it was continued poor pitching by the Storm that kept setting the Hounds up with them walking Dom Brown with bases loaded and hitting Bryce Goodwine right after to score the 15th and 16th run of the contest for the Hounds.
UP NEXT
The Hounds will return to GLVC-action on the road, this time heading west to face the McKendree Bearcats. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, the Hounds and Cats will be off campus. On the first day of the four game set they will battle it out on the campus of Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville in Edwardsville, Ill. with that set to begin at 2 p.m. CST. They will play games two through four of the set at GCS Ballpark – home of the Gateway Grizzlies.
MARIAN SOFTBALL
MARIAN SPLITS CROSSROADS LEAGUE OPENER AGAINST GRACE
Winona Lake, Ind. – The Marian Softball team split their Crossroads League Opener, with Marian winning game one against Grace before falling to the Lancers in game two. Marian is now 12-2 overall on the season, and 1-1 in the Conference.
Game 1 | Marian 10-2 Grace | 5 Innings
Marian took the early jump against Grace in game one, scoring three runs. As Savannah Harweger scored the first run of the day off of Abby Madere’s deep double into center field. Lily Wendt hit a double deep into the same area as Madere allowing her to score the second run for the Knights. With Grace Meyer singling into left field Wendt took the chance and scored the third run of the inning for the Knights to bring the score 3-0.
Harweger was able to score her second run of the game on a wild throw from Grace’s third base starter Tia O’Connor. Sierra Norman got her hand in the mix hitting a two-run bomb deep past left field allowing Madere to score her second run of the day to bring the score 6-0 at the middle of the second inning.
Abbey Hoffman continued the batting streak for the Knights with a single deep into center field allowing Meyer to score a run for Marian. Going into the middle of the third inning the Knights continued to increase their lead to 7-0 against the Lancers.
After two scoreless innings for the Knights defense the Lancers were able to score their first run of the game on a dropped fly ball to bring the score 7-1 at the end of the third inning.
After a scoreless fourth inning for both sides the Knights got the bats rolling once again with Brooke Knox singling up the middle to allow Hayley Greene to score her first run of the day. Hoffman was able to score her first run of the day with the help of the Lancer’s missed catch, which also allowed Knox to advance to third. Harweger hit a single into right field during her at bat allowing Knox to score her first run of the game.
The Lancers continued to push at the Knights lead with Kaitlyn Seagrave tripling into right-center, to eventually score on a wild throw to bring the final score 10-2 to secure the Knights win in five innings.
Harweger led the team in hits with three while also scoring two runs and tallying one RBI. Madere, Meyer, Hoffmann, and Knox all had two hits with, Norman and Wendt each having one to total the 13 hits the Knights gained. In the circle Olivia Stunkel pitched for four innings only to give up one hit and one run while striking out two batters. Lauren Mayer got her time in the circle pitching the last inning only to give up one hit and run and struck out one batter.
Game 2 | Marian 0-8 Grace | 5 Innings
Coming off of the game one loss Grace took the lead early in the bottom of the first, scoring two runs in the inning off of the Knight’s starter Jaylah Guilliam. Guilliam would get out of the inning with a fly out to left-center and a swinging strike out.
After a scoreless inning for the visitors, Grace would get the bats swinging again to score four more runs in the bottom of the second to bring the score 6-0 in favor of the Lancers. Macy Coan got her time on the circle after the home teams third run of the game was scored. Coan got out of the inning with a pick-off on third, and two ground-outs.
Coan would settle in to pitch a scoreless third inning against Grace. In the bottom of the fourth inning the Lancers would get the bats rolling once again to gain two more runs before the Knights switched Katie Lackman into pitch to finish up the inning with Madiso Gainey getting thrown out at home and a fly out to left field.
The Knights were not able to get on the board in the fifth inning to end the game 8-0 with the lost against Grace.
Madere went 2-2 and was able to get two of the four hits the Knights tallied in game two, with Harweger and Caroline Roop tallying the other two. In the circle, Guilliam took the loss with striking out one batter, while Coan also struck out one.
The Knights will be back in action on March 15, at home to take on The University of Saint Francis. First pitch is set for 3:00 p.m.
SMALL COLLEGE ATHLETICS
INDIANA WESLEYAN ATHLETICS: https://iwuwildcats.com/
EARLHAM ATHLETICS: https://goearlham.com/
WABASH ATHLETICS: https://sports.wabash.edu/
FRANKLIN ATHLETICS: https://franklingrizzlies.com/
ROSE-HULMAN ATHLETICS: https://athletics.rose-hulman.edu/
ANDERSON ATHLETICS: https://athletics.anderson.edu/landing/index
TRINE ATHLETICS: https://trinethunder.com/landing/index
BETHEL ATHLETICS: https://bupilots.com/
DEPAUW ATHLETICS: https://depauwtigers.com/
HANOVER ATHLETICS: https://athletics.hanover.edu/
MANCHESTER ATHLETICS: https://muspartans.com/
HUNTINGTON ATHLETICS: https://www.huathletics.com/
OAKLAND CITY ATHLETICS: https://gomightyoaks.com/index.aspx
ST. FRANCIS ATHLETICS: https://www.saintfranciscougars.com/landing/index
IU KOKOMO ATHLETICS: https://iukcougars.com/
IU EAST ATHLETICS: https://www.iueredwolves.com/
IU SOUTH BEND ATHLETICS: https://iusbtitans.com/
PURDUE NORTHWEST ATHLETICS: https://pnwathletics.com/
INDIANA TECH ATHLETICS: https://indianatechwarriors.com/index.aspx
GRACE COLLEGE ATHLETICS: https://gclancers.com/
ST. MARY OF THE WOODS ATHLETICS: https://smwcathletics.com/
GOSHEN COLLEGE ATHLETICS: https://goleafs.net/
HOLY CROSS ATHLETICS: https://www.hcsaints.com/index.php
TAYLOR ATHLETICS: https://www.taylortrojans.com/
VINCENNES ATHLETICS: https://govutrailblazers.com/landing/index
FOOTBALL HISTORY
March 13 Football History Headlines
March 13, 1960 – NFL’s Chicago Cardinals announce the move to St Louis. This was not a total shock to the fans as rumors had been circulating for years. George Halas an the Bears had also been clamouring for the Redbird’s owner, Mr. Bidwell to leave the South Side of Chicago so that the Bears could expand their fan base. I defer the rest of this story to the Sports History Network’s Joe Ziemba who has a blog page and an entire podcast episode on the subject. Joe as you have heard on his program and his guest spots on many other podcasts, including this one as well as radio and teleivision is the premier authority on the Chicago Cardinals. After all he wrote the book on them, “When Football Was Football: The Chicago Cardinals and the Birth of the NFL.”
March 13, 2000 – Miami Dolphins long time record setting Quarterback, Dan Marino officially announced his retirement.
Hall of Fame Birthdays for March 13
March 13, 1918 – Corbin, Kentucky – Duke University’s play making half back of 1937 to 1939 George McAfee was born. George played in the NFL for the Chicago Bears. He was inducted into both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. There is much more on McAfee found by clicking his name above.
March 13, 1938 – Winchester, Massachusetts – The swift Navy halfback for the era of 1958 to 1960 Joe Bellino arrived into this world.
March 13, 1977 – Alvin, South Carolina – Georgia Tech’s quarterback from 1996 through 1999 Joe Hamilton was born. The NFF tells of how Joe became Georgia Tech’s all-time leading passer and how he won the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award his senior season of 1999. That same year Hamilton was also a Consensus First-Team All-American, the ACC Player of the Year, he was the Heisman Trophy runner-up. Joe holds the Yellow Jacket’s career records of passing yards (8,882), touchdown passes (65) and completion percentage (62.0). Joe got his big shot in the pros when he was picked in the seventh round of the 2000 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Hamilton spent two seasons with the Buccaneers and one with the Indianapolis Colts. Hamilton also played for the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League for three seasons. The National Football Foundation placed the career of Joe Hamilton into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2014.
NUMBERS IN SPORTS
34 – 5 – 44 – 22
March 13, 1954 – The Milwaukee Braves Number 34, Bobby Thomson breaks his leg and off the bench to replace the outfielder is a young ball player named Hank Aaron, a rookie that wore Number 5 that season but in the following season switched to Number 44 and started making history
March 13, 1960 – The Chicago White Sox unveiled their new road uniforms that had the players’ names above number
March 13, 1979 – Mike Bossy who wore Number 22 for the New York Islanders scored his fifth career hat trick.
TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1915 “Help me, Lads, I’m covered with my own blood!” – WILBERT ROBINSON, reacting to the fluid dripping down from his chest before quickly realizing it’s only grapefruit juice. Dodger manager Wilbert Robinson, thinking he will catch a baseball dropped from a plane, is surprised and splattered when the sphere turns out to be a grapefruit. Although legend has it that Casey Stengel is behind the prank, the pilot, Ruth Law, a pioneer in American aviation, substituted part of her lunch when she realized she forgot to bring a baseball.
1944 It’s True, Cy Young’s middle name is not Tecumseh, as sometimes listed, but the initial T stands for True. The Hall of Fame right-hander’s middle name mixup may result from his teammates calling him ‘The Chief,’ the English word for Tecumseh.
1953 On the day that will become known as ‘Black Friday’ in Boston, Lou Perini announces he will seek permission from the National League to move his franchise to Milwaukee, home of the team’s top minor-league affiliate. The Braves owner cites low attendance as the reason for relocating the club after being in the New England city for 82 years.
1954 During an exhibition game against the Yankees, recently acquired Brave Bobby Thomson breaks his ankle in three places, sidelining him until July 14. The ’51 National League playoff hero is replaced in the Braves’ lineup by a promising prospect named Hank Aaron.
1960 Much to the chagrin of other owners and most of his players, Bill Veeck’s White Sox becomes the first team to put the players’ names on the back of the jersey, unveiling the new look on their road uniforms in an exhibition game against Cincinnati in Tampa. After the rest of the league’s clubs protest the Chicago owner’s innovation, the commissioner’s office will rule that in addition to displaying traditional numbers, each team will have the option to use monikered uniforms.
1979 The Tigers and Mets swap relievers, with Detroit sending Ed Glynn to the Big Apple in exchange for Mardie Cornejo, who, after posting a 4-2 record as a rookie last season, will never play in another major league game. The latest addition to the New York bullpen will make 84 appearances, compiling an ERA of 3.53 during the two years with his new club.
1986 Designated hitter Hal McRae, 39, and Brian, his 18-year-old second baseman son, play in a Royals preseason game against the Phillies at Terry Field to become the first father and son combination to appear as major league teammates. Kansas City manager Dick Howser refers to the pair as a ‘Big Mac Attack.’
1987 The Phillies sign Tiger free-agent catcher Lance Parrish to a one-year deal worth $800,000, plus another $200,000 if the 31-year-year-old does not have any problems with his chronic back. The former six-time All-Star backstop, a winner of five Silver Slugger Awards and three Gold Glove Awards playing for the Tigers, proves to be a bust in Philadelphia, batting .230 in his two seasons in the City of Brotherly Love.
1997 In their first-ever minor league spring training game, the Rays defeated Philadelphia, 6-0. John Kaufman, Tom Bergan, Matt Williams, and Jamie Ybarra combine to throw a no-hitter in the exhibition contest against the major league team.
2001 Rick Ankiel makes his first appearance since last year’s playoffs, throwing 22 strikes out of 29 pitches while tossing two innings of shutout ball in his surprise start against the Mets at Roger Dean Stadium. The 21-year-old southpaw starter lost his control at the end of last season, throwing nine wild pitches in three postseason appearances last year.
2006 Three pitches into the top of the seventh inning, the stadium lights at Tradition Field partially fail. With fifty percent of the lighting not functioning, the exhibition game ends, after a 15-minute delay, with the Mets leading the Nationals, 10-4.
2008 Joining the ranks of Garth Brooks and Tom Selleck as celebrities who have appeared in a spring exhibition game, Billy Crystal strikes out in the first inning as the Yankees’ leadoff batter. The comedian, who signed a one-day contract with the Bronx Bombers, wears the number sixty in honor of his 60th birthday tomorrow.
2008 The pitching-poor Cardinals bolster their rotation by agreeing to a preliminary one-year deal with Kyle Lohse (9-12, 4.62). The 29-year-old right-hander, who pitched for the Reds and Phillies last season, will make $4.25 million hurling for the Redbirds.
2009 “Through good times and bad, I never doubted the support that all of you had for my teammates and me…I hope to see you in October.” – PAT BURRELL, former Phillies outfielder thanking the Philadelphia fans. Pat Burrell takes out ads in two of Philadelphia’s largest newspapers, the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News, to thank Phillies fans for their support during his nine years with the team. The 32-year-old slugging ‘Pat the Bat’ signed a free-agent deal in the off-season with the Rays, the club the Phils beat in last season’s World Series.
BASEBALL YEAR IN REVIEW: 1940 (BASEBALL ALMANAC)
Off the field…
The United States first adopted the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940. The act provided that not more than 900,000 men were to be in military training at any one time, and it limited active duty service to twelve months. After the United States entered World War II, a new selective service act made men between eighteen and forty-five liable for military service and required all men between eighteen and sixty-five to register for the draft.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike debuted as the first multilane superhighway in the U.S. and the first Los Angeles freeway opened. Both set the standard for the rapid evolution of highway transportation development across the country. Since then every state has constructed at least one superhighway on either a toll or non-toll basis.
In the American League…
Yankees pitcher Spud Chandler almost single-handedly led New York to a 10-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox after knocking in six runs with a single, two home runs and a grand slam. His six runs batted in performance tied an American League record shared with Pete Appleton who was one of the pitchers he was facing.
During a 12-9 win over the Detroit Tigers, Red Sox shortstop Joe Cronin became not the first player to cycle twice, but the first to do it a decade apart. Cronin, who had originally accomplished the feat in 1929, went four-for-five becoming the fifth Boston player ever to go the distance.
Boston Red Sox slammer Jimmie Foxx moved ahead of Lou Gehrig on the all time home run list after hitting number’s four-hundred ninety-four and four-hundred ninety-five off the Washington Senators en route to a 7-6 win on August 16th.
In the National League…
On May 7th, the Brooklyn Dodgers fell 18-2 after the St. Louis Cardinals totaled forty-nine bases on twenty hits. Thirteen knocks went for extra-bases and seven of them were home runs. The rally set a National League record for most extra bases on long hits with twenty-nine.
Brooklyn Dodgers’ reliever Carl Doyle dropped the ball (and the game) after giving up sixteen hits and fourteen runs (in just four innings) as the Cincinnati Reds tallied twenty-seven hits and a 23-2 victory. To make matters worse, Doyle also hit four Cincinnati batters to tie a National League record and initiated a bitter rivalry between the teams that would last for decades. Four days later, he was sent to the St. Louis Cardinals.
Harry Danning, of the New York Giants, hit for the cycle against the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 15th and became the last player of the century to include an inside the park home run in his cycle. The inside-the-park-home run traveled four-hundred sixty feet and became lodged behind an Eddie Grant memorial in front of the Giants’ clubhouse. New York went on to win their eighth straight with a 12-1 triumph.
Around the League…
At the All-Star Game, outfielder Max West of the Boston Bees hit a three-run home run in the first inning to lead the Nationals to victory over the American League. The 4-0 final was the first shutout ever recorded at a Midsummer Classic.
In response to the “beanball wars” Spalding Sporting Goods introduced a new style of batting helmet (with earflaps) to mixed reviews. The Brooklyn Dodgers also introduced a padded cap liner that some batters elected to use the following season.
Walter Johnson, the man who had won four-hundred sixteen games for the Washington Senators, lost the election as the Republican candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland. Although Johnson’s political career ended before it began, his career on the field seemed to never end as he compiled statistics that included sixteen straight wins (1912); a string of fifty-six scoreless innings, and a 36-7 (1.09) mark in 1913; five wins, three of them shutouts, in nine days (1908); sixty-six triumphs over Detroit, the most for any American League pitcher against any one team; two-hundred victories in eight seasons and three-hundred in fourteen.
TODAY IN NBA HISTORY
March 13, 1962
The Boston Celtics beat the Syracuse Nationals 142-110, becoming the first team to win 60 games (60-20) in an NBA season.
March 13, 1983
Randy Smith’s consecutive game played streak ended at 906 games, then the longest in NBA history. During that time Smith played for Buffalo, San Diego (twice), Cleveland and New York. A.C. Green of the Dallas Mavericks broke Smith’s record on November 20, 1997.
March 13, 1990
Denver coach Doug Moe earned his 600th career victory in the Nuggets’ 117-114 win over the Houston Rockets.
March 13, 1992
Los Angeles Lakers broadcaster Chick Hearn called his 2,500th consecutive Lakers game at the Richfield Coliseum in Cleveland, a streak dating back to November of 1965.
March 13, 1998
Utah’s John Stockton scored the 15,000th point of his career in a 110-101 win over Vancouver.
March 13, 1999
Charles Barkley of the Houston Rockets became the third player in NBA history to amass 20,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 4,000 assists when he recorded his first assist in a 100-89 victory over Cleveland. He joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain in this elite group.
March 13, 1999
Dallas’ A.C. Green plays in his 1,000th consecutive game in a 91-74 win over the Vancouver Grizzlies.
March 13, 2009
LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers scores 51 points in a 126-123 win over the Sacramento Kings.
March 13, 2021
For the first time in NBA history, five different players recorded the statistical feat on the same day: the Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Wizards’ Russell Westbrook, the Pacers’ Domantas Sabonis, the Nets’ James Harden and the Knicks’ Julius Randle. Antetokounmpo and Westbrook’s respective triple-doubles occurred in the same game, marking just the sixth time in league history opponents registered 30-point versions of the milestone.
TODAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1894 — J.L. Johnstone of England invents the starting gate for horse racing.
1920 — NYU wins the national amateur basketball championship in Atlanta. The Violets beat Rutgers 49-24 in the final of the AAU tournament.
1961 — Floyd Patterson knocks out Ingemar Johansson in the sixth round to retain the world heavyweight title in Miami Beach.
1982 — Elaine Zayak of the United States wins the world figure skating championship.
1983 — Randy Smith’s consecutive game streak ends at 906 games, the longest in NBA history. Smith played for Buffalo, San Diego (twice), Cleveland and New York during the streak.
1997 — The America’s Cup, the oldest trophy in international sports and yachting’s most coveted prize, is all but destroyed by a Maori protester who struck it repeatedly with a sledgehammer in Auckland, New Zealand.
1998 — Bryce Drew hits a leaning 3-pointer as time expires to give Valparaiso a shocking 70-69 upset of Mississippi in the first round of the NCAA Midwest Regional.
2001 — Philadelphia’s Mark Recchi picks up his 1,000th career point during 5-2 win over St. Louis. He’s the 60th player in NHL history to reach the mark.
2007 — Lance Mackey wins the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, becoming the first musher to win major long-distance North American sled dog races back-to-back. On Feb. 20, Mackey won his third consecutive Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race, a 1,000 mile race between Fairbanks and Whitehorse, Yukon.
2007 — Dallas’ Mike Modano becomes the 39th player in NHL history and second born in the United States to reach 500 goals, scoring with 10:24 left in the third period of a 3-2 victory over Philadelphia.
2008 — Bode Miller clinches the men’s overall World Cup ski title. Miller earns his second title in four years with a 12th-place finish in the super-G combined, along with Didier Cuche’s announcement that he would not enter the season-ending slalom in Bormio, Italy.
2011 — The NCAA men’s basketball selection committee releases its 68-team draw, which included a record 11 teams from the Big East, the deepest conference in the nation. The tournament adds three more at-large teams that will open the tournament in what the NCAA is calling the “First Four.”
2012 — BYU pulls off the biggest comeback in NCAA tournament history on a wild opening night. Noah Hartsock scores 16 of his 23 points in the second half and the Cougars rally from 25 points down to beat Iona 78-72 in the first round. It marks the biggest comeback in an NCAA tournament game. Previously, the largest deficit overcome was 22 points in 2001 when Duke fought back to beat Maryland 95-84 in the national semifinals. It’s the second incredible turnaround of the night in Dayton. With President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron watching, Western Kentucky comes back from a 16-point deficit in the final 5 minutes to beat Mississippi Valley State 59-58.
2018 — Russell Westbrook picks up the 100th triple-double of his career and the Oklahoma City Thunder uses a 16-0 run late in the fourth quarter to pull away from the Atlanta Hawks for a 119-107 victory. Westbrook scores 32 points, dishes out 12 assists and grabs 12 rebounds to become the third-fastest player to reach the milestone.
2020 – Elite football in Britain, including England’s Premier League, EFL, Women’s Super League plus in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, is suspended until at least 3 April because of COVID-19 pandemic.
2022 — After a 40-day retirement, record breaking quarterback Tom Brady announces he will play at least one more season in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
TV SPORTS WEDNESDAY
COLLEGE BASKETBALL (MEN’S)
11:30 a.m.
USA — Atlantic 10 Tournament: Saint Joseph’s vs. George Mason, Second Round, Brooklyn, N.Y.
12 p.m.
ESPN — Atlantic Coast Tournament: Florida St. vs. Virginia Tech, Second Round, Washington
12:30 p.m.
ESPN2 — Big 12 Tournament: TBD vs. BYU, Second Round, Kansas City, Mo.
2 p.m.
USA — Atlantic 10 Tournament: TBD vs. VCU, Second Round, Brooklyn, N.Y.
2:30 p.m.
ESPN — Atlantic Coast Tournament: TBD vs. Wake Forest, Second Round, Washington
3 p.m.
PAC-12N — Pac-12 Tournament: Southern Cal vs. Washington, First Round, Las Vegas
4 p.m.
FS1 — Big East Tournament: Xavier vs. Butler, First Round, New York
5 p.m.
ESPN2 — Southland Tournament: TBD, Championship, Lake Charles, La.
USA — Atlantic 10 Tournament: TBD vs. St. Bonaventure, Second Round, Brooklyn, N.Y.
5:30 p.m.
PAC-12N — Pac-12 Tournament: Oregon St. vs. UCLA, First Round, Las Vegas
6:30 p.m.
FS1 — Big East Tournament: Georgetown vs. Providence, First Round, New York
PEACOCK — Big Ten Tournament: Rutgers vs. Maryland, First Round, Minneapolis
7 p.m.
CBSSN — Patriot League Tournament: Lehigh at Colgate, Championship
ESPN2 — Atlantic Coast Tournament: TBD vs. Syracuse, Second Round, Washington
SECN — Southeastern Tournament: Vanderbilt vs. Arkansas, First Round, Nashville, Tenn.
7:30 p.m.
USA — Atlantic 10 Tournament: TBD vs. Duquesne, Second Round, Brooklyn, N.Y.
9 p.m.
FS1 — Big East Tournament: DePaul vs. Villanova, First Round, New York
PAC-12N — Pac-12 Tournament: Stanford vs. California, First Round, Las Vegas
PEACOCK — Big Ten Tournament: Michigan vs. Penn St., First Round, Minneapolis
9:30 p.m.
ESPN2 — Atlantic Coast Tournament: TBD vs. Clemson, Second Round, Washington
ESPNU — Big 12 Tournament: TBD vs. Kansas, Second Round, Kansas City, Mo.
SECN — Southeastern Tournament: Missouri vs. Georgia, First Round, Nashville, Tenn.
11:30 p.m.
ESPN2 — Big Sky Tournament: TBD, Championship, Boise, Idaho
PAC-12N — Pac-12 Tournament: Arizona St. vs. Utah, First Round, Las Vegas
COLLEGE BASKETBALL (WOMEN’S)
5 p.m.
ESPNU — Big Sky Tournament: TBD, Championship, Boise, Idaho
7 p.m.
ESPNU — American Athletic Tournament: TBD, Championship, Fort Worth, Texas
10:30 p.m.
CBSSN — Mountain West Tournament: TBD, Championship, Las Vegas
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
7 p.m.
ACCN — Alabama at Florida St.
MLB BASEBALL
1 p.m.
MLBN — Spring Training: Boston vs. NY Yankees, Tampa, Fla.
4 p.m.
MLBN — Spring Training: Seattle vs. LA Dodgers, Phoenix
NBA BASKETBALL
7:40 p.m.
ESPN — Denver at Miami
10:05 p.m.
ESPN — LA Lakers at Sacramento
NHL HOCKEY
7:30 p.m.
TNT — Los Angeles at St. Louis
10 p.m.
TNT — Washington at Edmonton
TRUTV — Washington at Edmonton
RUGBY (MEN’S)
4:55 a.m. (Thursday)
FS2 — NRL: South Sydney at Brisbane
SOCCER (MEN’S)
4 p.m.
FS2 — The French Cup: Nice at Paris Saint-Germain, Quarterfinal
5:55 p.m.
FS2 — CONCACAF Champions Cup: SV Robinhood vs. CS Herediano, Round of 16 – Leg 2, Paramaribo, Suriname
7:55 p.m.
FS2 — CONCACAF Champions Cup: Nashville SC at Inter Miami CF, Round of 16 – Leg 2
10:20 p.m.
FS2 — CONCACAF Champions Cup: Guadalajara at Club América, Round of 16 – Leg 2
TENNIS
2 p.m. TENNIS — Indian Wells-ATP/WTA Round of 16; Indian Wells-ATP Doubles Semifinals; Indian Wells-WTA Doubles Quarterfinals